THE STRANGE BLUE CREATURE

Strange, indeed, this bulbous, pink-tongued extraterrestrial with a pointy mouthful of alligator teeth, who romps around from palace to schoolyard devouring crayons—``Even the broken ones.'' The princess sends soldiers after him—to no avail—but once she shows him what crayons are for, the problem is solved. Beginning with every house in sight, he crayons beautiful designs all over their outside walls and goes on to become a great artist. As in Daniel Lehan's picture books, the message about creativity is oblique, not didactic. An offbeat yarn with bright, cartoony illustrations, rendered with a sure hand. Not essential, but both the innocently voracious creature and the outcome have appeal. (Picture book. 4-7)