RAINY RAINY SATURDAY

Mixed in with the younger poetry on a non-fiction shelf, including Prelutsky's own spirited offerings, these 14 rhymes about ordinary rainy-day activities would seem pretty commonplace. There's the familiar complaint of a boy who can't get the hang of whistling, the boast of a girl who has made a many-featured monster out of clay, and expressions, of other standard sentiments about going to bed, coloring, cleaning tree's room, and speculating about what's going on inside the clock. As made-to-order exercises for beginning readers, though, they might help pass a small part of a rainy day. The ode to spaghetti, though no more original in concept than the rest, puts some bounce into the dull day; and, conversely, the entry that begins ""Sometimes I simply have to cry,/ I don't know why,/ I don't know why"" can hit a nerve with its echo of a certain rainy-day mood.