MOTHER GOOSE FOR CHRISTMAS

Little Boy Blue's alarmed cry ""that fire is for burning Mother Goose,"" the prospect of ""ROAST GOOSEY GANDER!"" and the leering toothy grins on the two strangers (one of whom wears a shirt with terrifying red stains) as they carry off both the old Mother and her goose into the boarded Queen of Hearts Bakery -- all together should be enough to throw any nursery into a state of trauma. The fearsome kidnappers turn out to be none other than Simple Simon and his pieman -- come to town to bake Christmas goodies, but the leavening of du Bois' festive gingerbread bakery and the soothingly shaded pastel outfits of Mother Goose land's Yuletide celebrants don't completely ease the shock. The Queen of Hearts caper is hard du Bois to warm up to, but at least it should wake up story time audiences lulled by a diet of oversweetened Christmas cheer.