MAD AS A WET HEN!

If you occasionally blow your stack over red tape or go bananas over the apple of your eye, you will appreciate this third lighthearted look at the language's expressions. Kids--and people from other cultures--often repeat idioms without knowing whence they come, so this will be welcome. It is organized by such categories as dogs (""He's in the doghouse""), insects (""That's the fly in the ointment""), and body parts (""He's all thumbs""; ""That costs an arm and a leg""). There is a brief explanation, verbal or pictorial, of each expression. The chapter on hats is written as a performable little play with 11 famous hat idioms incorporated. Illustrations are clever and cartoony, with many an internal joke (e.g., potatoes seeing eye to eye). This is marvelous metaphorical magic. Index.