DONAVAN'S WORD JAR

Donavan's friends collect buttons and marbles, but he collects words. ""NUTRITION,"" ""BALLYHOO,"" ""ABRACADABRA"" -- these and other words are safely stored on slips of paper in a jar. As it fills, Donavan sees a storage problem developing and, after soliciting advice from his teacher and family, sones it himself: Visiting his grandma at a senior citizens' apartment house, he settles a tenants' argument by pulling the word ""COMPROMISE"" from his jar and, feeling ""as if the sun had come out inside him,"" discovers the satisfaction of giving his words away. Appealingly detailed b&w illustrations depict Donavan and his grandma as African-Americans. This Baltimore librarian's first book is sure to whet readers' appetites for words, and may even start them on their own savory collections.