I'LL TAKE YOU TO MRS COLE!

Whenever a young black boy makes a mess, his mother threatens to take him to Mrs. Cole's ramshackle house. One day, disinclined to do his chores, he runs away and ends up (after some trepidation) at the dreaded neighbor's—where he finds a cheery, red-cheeked matron in a Mick Jagger apron, a gaggle of friendly children, and a household nearly buried under clutter. He gets such a hearty welcome that thereafter his mother's threat has become a reward—``If you're good, you can go and play at Mrs. Cole's.'' Foreman darkens his frequently fiery colors to reflect the ominous drift of the boy's imaginings; for more fastidious readers, the reality may seem like a nightmare—and an unsanitary one, at that. This decidedly minor effort was originally published in Great Britain (and briefly available here in 1986); the language has been Americanized for those who can't figure out what a ``telly'' or a ``pram'' is. (Picture book. 6-8)