To Bathe a Boa

The title character in this madcap picture book is a most engaging reptile. One sympathizes with the boa's quizzical expression when his master recounts, ""With soap in hand and water hot,/ I called my boa to the spot./ `It's dinnertime,' I sweetly lied,/ but not a sound did he reply.'' Wisely, the boa hides out in his master's toy chest, wearing a false nose and mustache. When the boy finally finds him, a rollicking struggle ensues, and they both end up in the bath. ``I should have known that I'd get wet,/ for every time I bathe my pet,/ this very thing is what I see . . . ./ My boa ends up scrubbing ME!'' Readers couldn't ask for a sillier idea or a more frolicsome execution, although some of the rhymes are clumsy. But only a sourpuss would complain about this disarming book. (4-8)