WHICH IS THE BEST PLACE?

This flimsy tale about a foolish argument is the sort of thing a talented reader-aloud might turn into a lively session. First a goose and a rooster disagree as to which is the ""best place""--down on the grass or perched on a fence--and then when they seek arbitration each animal they poll adds his own candidate to the growing list of favorite spots: to a crow it's a ""tall, tall tree""; a pig opts for ""a nice cool puddle""; and so on through a mole, a squirrel, a fish and a beetle, until the pair puts the question to Kitty, a little girl sleeping in a hammock. The bland monotony of Duvoisin's flat illustrations might put an audience to sleep too, though Ginsburg ends refreshingly by having all the disputants doze off themselves--leaving room for listeners to draw their own conclusions while waiting for Kitty's answer or to dismiss the whole silly affair with Kitty's indifference. Not Ginsburg's best.