WHEN I AM EIGHT

A self-assured little boy details the grand things he'll do when he's big like his brother: his wheelies will break records; he'll be a champion ballplayer who can retort, ``Who cares?'' when he's told he's too little to play; and (his imagination soars) he'll have a video game with real monsters and a birthday party with a circus, including an elephant. The downtrodden younger sibling's fancies are familiar territory; still, this excursion into it is distinguished by Nixon's deft portrayal of the child's feelings; by Gackenbach's ebullient, cartoony illustrations, subtly capturing his bravado in the face of exclusion—and by the generosity with which, in the end, he imagines turning the other cheek: ``He can come to my party even if he is bigger...Even if he keeps telling me I'm too little...Because he is my brother.'' A likable addition. (Picture book. 4-7)