THE BALLYMARA FLOOD

In the Irish town of Ballymara, a young boy takes a bath. When the lad can't turn the water off, a flood of biblical proportions sweeps through his home, street, and the whole town. Succeeding waves of impressive, would-be rescuers—from the fire department to the Corps of Engineers to the Navy (at one point a frigate is seen cruising down Main Street)—fail to stanch the geyser, and it is left to the boy to take action and save the day. Stuart's first book frames this tale of mayhem as a quatrained jig (`` `We have to find the main,' he gasped/And waded down the hall./The stop-valve came off in his hands,/Which did no good at all''), supple enough for nearly everyone's read-aloud tastes, from gentle lilt to all-out performance art. An author's note suggests that an Irish accent would not be out of place in attempts to read this out loud. Booth's patently demented creatures—human and beast—provide a match made in Ireland for the text, and elevate it to high good humor. (Picture book. 4-8)