THE GIRL WHO LISTENED TO SINKS

The premise here is childlike: lonely because Mother's preoccupied with a job she hates and the kids at school are ``mean,'' a little girl finds solace in conversations with things—a sheet that says ``Ouch!'' if she pulls too hard, toothpaste that giggles when squeezed, and especially the friendly bathroom sink. The girl makes the sink a ruffly skirt, which starts a lucrative fad; the child and her mother are soon selling so many sink skirts that they can move to a seaside house (loyally taking along the sink). It sounds silly, and the outcome is certainly contrived; but the characterizations of the objects are apt and their dialogue is amusing, while the story works well as a metaphor for a child's sense of alienation in a bleak environment. Leer's formally composed pastels effectively capture the city's joyless bustle and the imaginative spark that rekindles the little family. Offbeat and rather long, this may do best as a young reader. (Picture book. 6-9)