NOODLES

Noodles ($15.95; May 31, 1996; 20 pp.; 0-694-00842-7): A rare product indeed: a novelty item that doesn't rest on gimmickry, but balances artistic and literary content with eye-popping surprises. The concept is so absurd that it guarantees a wonderful time: A batch of Italian pasta noodles performs as a pop-up, 3-D circus. The macaroni shoots himself from a canneloni cannon; the gemelli does a hula dance; there are spaghetti jugglers and a manicotti muscleman. It's a special treat to watch green-tongued Brownie von Ziti chomping down a batch of flaming fusilli. The performance is accompanied by a dollop of saucy rhymes (in trochaic dimeter) that keep the action flowing. This product's shelf life is reduced only slightly by its inherent fragility; still, this is a hearty feast. (Picture book. 3-8)