THE ALLIGATOR UNDER THE BED

The focus in this latest picture tale of wild things in the nursery is neither Jill nor her imaginary alligator but understanding Uncle Harry who solves the little gift's problem by -- as therapists say -- participating in her fantasy. Though both Mama and Daddy pooh-pooh her claim that there's an alligator under her bed, Uncle Harry sits down and chats casually about the unusual visitor, finally talking the alligator into following him down the hall and out the front door. This is really less a child's view of those common bedtime fears than an object lesson for grownups on how to handle them, but Uncle Harry does make an entertaining game of the occasion.