JORAM'S FEAST

Anyone remembering the Jemima Puddleduck books with affection will be attracted to this book. It also has small, square format. The black and white drawings of the hedgehog's inside-a-tree apartment have the same ""special arrangements"" appeal. Joram plans a large dinner that will include all his family, from the biggest of his look-alike relatives to the smallest, who arrives dragging a miniature hedgehog roller toy. The story concerns Joram's woodland harvest of food and his ceaseless preparations for his guests. There is a quiet whimsey in the words, well captured in the pictures. The text is arranged in short stanzas where there is more of an echo of remembered sound than strict rhyme. Joram's successful feast preceded his bedding down for a winter's nap-- a clue to this book's best use.