cover image Stay Up Late

Stay Up Late

Maira Kalman, David Byrne. Viking Children's Books, $14.95 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-670-81895-2

Kalman's paintings accompany the words to ""Stay Up Late,'' the Talking Heads song. The action in this book is all in the pictures. A girl and boy somewhat cruelly entertain themselves by preventing their baby brother from sleepingyanking and tossing him, pulling his hair, blasting him with music: ``He's just a little plaything/ Why not wake him up?'' Meanwhile, adults are shown drinking, dancing, daydreaming or napping, but not paying much attention to the children. Kalman uses a pseudochildish composition and styleimaginative and energetic, with lots of inventive asidesbut her art has a mean-spirited edge that takes its cue from the lyrics: ``We want to make him stay up all night.'' This book has a definite appeal for hip adults, but it's not for the literal-minded child. All ages. (October)