Lionel in the Fall

The collaborators from Lionel at Large return with an autumn adventure that begins on Lionel's first day of school. He is uneasy: ""I have a new shirt, new pants, and new shoes. . . . But I am just the same old me. I don't match my new things.'' At his parents' prompting, he compares an old photo with his ``new'' image in a mirror. Now persuaded that he has grown and changed since last September, he gobbles up his breakfast, saying ``The new me doesn't want to be late.'' Other chapters focus on his new teacher, raking leaves and Halloween trick-or-treating, all of them appealing and wry. Krensky's stories and dialogue are realistic and humorous, perfectly matched by Natti's upbeat color drawings. Ages 4-9. (October)