THREE AT SEA

Three rough-and-ready little boys are sporting on an inner tube when it drifts out to sea. Unfazed, they try to prevail on passing aquatic life to save them, but the sea turtles don't go that close to shore: ``Got to be careful...we're endangered, you know.'' Zachariah Jr.—the studious African American, the one the others playfully hit when he uses big words—is already concerned about that; fortunately, he's also interested in crocodilians and keeps his cool when one tries to lunch on them, engaging it in debate (``Alligator?! With a long, pointed snout like this?'' says the incensed creature) and capturing its jaws in a bandanna (as he knows, the muscles for opening a croc's jaws are relatively weak) and getting it to carry them home. Deftly characterized in each dramatically depicted scene and pungent exchange of banter, Zachariah and his pals Joel (an irrepressible tease) and Alex (who dreams of joining the navy) are a vibrant trio whose zest for adventure is evident in every line of Bush's comical pen-and-watercolor art. A winner. (Picture book. 4-9)