Kids' Home Library by Lee Littlewood

Humor cures most ills. It can turn a grumpy child happy and cheer up a sad child. Reading a funny tale before bed can help kids calm down and relax. Laughter, after all, is nature's best remedy.

"Where the Mild Things Are: A Very Meek Parody" by Maurice Send-up; illustrated by Bonnie Leick; Simon & Schuster; 32 pages; $16.99.

I'm not really sure whether this book was happily approved by the real Maurice Sendak or whether he was involved in its creation, but this "Where the Wild Things Are" parody is a hoot. Max, the boy in the furry costume, is Mog, the monster with a bunny suit, in this tale, and he gets scolded for "playing with his food," (petting a kitten, that is). From here on, Mog's bed turns into a 1974 Gremlin, which travels the U.S. visiting all the most boring places.

Mog finds Dullsville and meets some very mild creatures who look uncannily like Martha Stewart, Jay Leno, Bill Gates and Al Gore. The group does some boring things like darning socks, learning binary codes and exchanging light bulbs, all of which make Mog very angry. In the end, Mog is very happy to return home, where he kicks his parents in the shins for putting him through all this.

Youngsters may not know who Stewart and Gates are, but they'll recognize satirical humor and enjoy this "monsters are more fun than humans" read.

"Adventure of Meno" by Tony & Angela DiTerlizzi; Simon & Schuster; 38 pages and $9.99 each.

The DiTerlizzis' newest mod-retro picture book series begins with two tales. Book one — "Big Fun!" — and book two — "Wet Friend!" — are the refreshingly vintage but funny tales of "Meno, elf of space. Here to visit human race!" Sort of a mix between anime and 1950s outer space wackiness, Meno's stories, "presented in vibrant meno-color!" says the cover, are easy to read, with sparse but fabulously simple illustrations.

In "Big Fun!" Meno searches for his floaty, octopus-like pal Yamagoo, and the pair enjoys a "sunshine snack" of moo juice and "dough with hole," but the big fun begins when each produces a silly toot from behind.

"Wet Friend!" sends Meno off to find a fish pal for Yamagoo, who misses the water.

With the help of Wishi, their wish-granting pal, the friends find a goldfish named Zanzibar. But first, they try out an adorable plankton, a crab and, yes, even a David Hasselhoff as friend considerations.

Hilarious and fun to read aloud text — "I am Zanzibar. I am wet. I live in Happy Fun Bowl. Please to give shrimp flake" — makes the "Adventure of Meno" series perfect giggle-inducing fodder for toddlers.

"Here Comes the Big, Mean Dust Bunny!" by Jan Thomas; Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster; 36 pages; $12.99.

The dust bunnies are back. Ed, Ned, Ted and Bob rhyme, all the time. Here they battle a big, gray, mean dust bunny with rhyming words. The big meanie shouts, "My turn! What rhymes with face?" The smaller, colorful dust bunnies answer with "race," "case," "vase" and "cat" (that one's from sole non-rhyming dust bunny Bob). Big dust bunny one-ups the foursome with, "Chase!" and runs after them.

Hilarity ensues when the foursome yell, "Cat!" and then "Splat!" as the cat sits on the big dust bunny, followed by, "Look at that. He is flat. Like a mat" and even, "Drat that cat!"

Tots will enjoy the colorful book's ending, with all dust bunnies hugging and smiling.

"Olivia" and "Olivia Forms a Band" by Ian Falconer; Aladdin/Simon and Schuster; 40 pages and $12.99 each.

Two new releases of Falconer's droll, hilarious and charming "Olivia" books are back, this time in smaller versions with accompanying story CDs read by Dame Edna. Great gift-sized tales, the books are worthy of a repeated mention with Edna's read-alouds as highly entertaining bonuses.

Certainly a favorite among young picture book heroines, Olivia reigns supreme, just as she imagines.

To find out more about Lee Littlewood and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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