HOME

This latest title in support of a worthy cause is subtitled ``A Collaboration of Thirty Distinguished Authors and Illustrators of Children's Books to Aid the Homeless.'' In this context, the theme seems bittersweet—yet celebrating the joys of one's own special place does effectively dramatize the deprivation of being homeless. In a brief, lyrical introduction, Rosen sets the tone: ``Home is all the words that call you in for dinner, over to help, into a hug, out of a dream.'' The 13 pieces sample a crowded city stoop, an elevator, a tiny tenement apartment; an attic, a closet, a kitchen table; such cozy refuges as a chair or a bed; back porch and country garden. Imaginative play, a family enjoying conversation, the pleasures of solitude- -each appears in a setting that explores the concept of home. The lineup here is multiethnic and star-studded (Hamilton, Kuskin, Rylant, Yep, Yolen, Egielski, Marshall, Simont, et al.); the poems and poetic reminiscences are just fine, while the art is even more outstanding. Not, perhaps, a first choice to give the homeless themselves, but one to engender thoughtful discussion among luckier children. (Picture book. 4-9)