THE PILLOW WAR

From Novak (Mouse TV, 1994, etc.), an incomplete allegory that is something of a misfire. Unable to agree just which of them is their dog Sam's best friend, young Millie and Fred interrupt their bedtime preparations for a pillow fight that takes them down the stairs and out into the street, draws in the neighbors, and eventually escalates into worldwide conflict- -``Biff! Boof! Paff! Poof!/`Ah-ah-ahchoof!' '' Indulging his gift for comic exaggeration to its fullest, Novak expands the field of view as the battle encompasses land, sea, and air, until the climactic spread, which is brimming with armies of pajama-clad warriors half-visible beneath flurries of pillows. As Millie and Fred wear military headgear, and the fight doesn't end until Fred is hurt, there's an edge to the humor; Sam, understandably preferring to sleep peacefully alone, curls up in a closet at the end. Judging from the satiric overtones and all the frowning faces, Novak has more in mind than an exercise in absurdity—but when all the participants put down their pillows, smile, and go back to bed, readers will get a confusingly mixed message. (Picture book. 5-7)