BEHIND THE KING'S KITCHEN

An attractive presentation of traditional and other riddles, chosen as much for their poetic quality as for their humor or the challenge of the puzzles; the thematic grouping would tend to suggest solutions even if the answers weren't given. What isn't provided is accessible sourcing; though a list of works like the Opies' volumes is appended, readers must guess, for example, what era described a watch as ``Beloved by men of degree.'' Only entries from known authors are specifically attributed; these include elegant literary translations from Symphosius (fourth century) by Richard Wilbur, nice oddments from Tolkien, Swenson, and Rossetti, and several—mostly doggerel—from the editors. Hnizdovsky's lovely, spare woodcuts, on most spreads, contribute to the handsome format but have little child appeal. Overall: pleasing but not essential. (Nonfiction. 8-12)