cover image Clean Your Room, Harvey Moon!

Clean Your Room, Harvey Moon!

Pat Cummings. Bradbury Press, $16.95 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-02-725511-9

Harvey's Saturday cartoon viewing is disrupted by ``the voice of DOOM'' (his mother): ``Today, young man, . . . Is the day you clean your room!'' Spurred on by the hope of getting back to the TV, Harvey reluctantly begins the difficult task of sorting out the monumental mess that he has accumulated. He hurriedly puts away T-shirts and sneakers, marbles and a toothbrush. But during Harvey's travails, mysterious lumps begin to form on his bed. Harvey's ``hide-it'' method of housekeeping may be neat, but it's not clever enough to fool Mom. Many children will empathize with Harvey and his sloppiness, and recognize the familiar items that lurk under beds and in closets. Cummings's ( My Mama Needs Me ) art is a boisterous clutter of color, providing just the right mood for her bouncy, rhyming text. The facial expressions of Harvey and his cat are particularly amusing. Ages 4-7. (Mar.)