THE HAPPY HOCKY FAMILY
by Lane Smith & illustrated by Lane Smith
Seventeen extremely short stories to delight the pre-primer crowd and their younger sibs. Smith parodies the smugly middle- class textbook, transforming boringly repeated lines into comic resignation in such dramas as a burst balloon: ``I have a balloon. Do you have a balloon? I have a balloon. My balloon is red...POP! I have a string. Do you have a string? I have a string.'' The Hockies may be a classic family of parents, boy, girl, baby, and pet, but these events—like those in Mother Goose or schoolyard lore—hinge on misfortune: ants escape; the contents of pockets shrivel in the wash; grandmother's perfume smells like too many flowers; a cousin habitually breaks toys; sibs exact retributive justice. The stories' easy informality is supported by illustrations featuring wonderfully expressive stick figures on paper-bag tan, spiced up with touches of bright red, blue, and mustard; Smith's graphics are disarmingly simple, but nonetheless expertly deployed. Fun for all. (Easy reader. 3-8)