PULLING MY LEG

At Grandma's birthday dinner, ""I had a loose tooth."" Offering to help, jovial Uncle Tom sends the little girl for pliers, then a hammer. In lighthearted color, pencil drawings, Downing makes it clear that the narrator knows all long that Uncle Tom's teasing is all good-humored. This glimpse of a warm, irrepressible family makes a slight but an engaging story that will be useful for its loose-tooth component.