TOM

Another autobiographical story from dePaola, this time about his grandfather, who ingenuously explains that "We're named after each other, Tommy. That's why I want you to call me Tom instead of Grandpa." In the best tradition, these two are allies: Tom sings silly songs till Tommy gets the giggles, and both retreat from Nana's scolding to tell stories by the furnace. Tommy also helps out in Tom's grocery, and on one memorable occasion he buries a chicken head to see whether it will grow a "chicken bush" as Tom says it will. Later, he has a grand time scaring people (all female) with a pair of chicken feet until he's caught with them in school and brings home a note forbidding him "to bring chicken feet to school ever again." A delightfully offbeat vignette of boyish mischief reinforcing the bond between generations; dePaola's handsomely designed illustrations have unusual warmth here, subtly expressing the characters' affection. (Picture book. 4-8)