Celebs Take On Seuss

By Evan Levy

It's not just the latest Fendi bag, the snazziest python boots or the newest Prada ensemble. It's not even telling it all on Oprah. No, what's really trendy this season among celebrities is writing a children's book.

Trendier still is writing in rhyme, at least as evidenced by several of this fall's entries. Actress JAMIE LEE CURTIS follows up her three previous children's books (including the New York Times best seller Today I Feel Silly & Other Moods That Make My Day) with Where Do Balloons Go? An Uplifting Mystery (HarperCollins), which has also made an appearance on the Times list. The book ponders such weighty thoughts about balloons as: "Are they always alone?/ Do they meet up in pairs?/ Do they ever get married and make balloon heirs?" The ebullient watercolor illustrations by Laura Cornell keep the book aloft in high style.

KATIE COURIC, Today show co-anchor, weighs in with The Brand New Kid (Doubleday), illustrated by Marjorie Priceman. While Couric might not want to give up her day job, the well-intentioned book (also written in rhyme) deals with the dreaded dilemma of being the new kid in school. "The other kids laughed, gee this new boy was weird./ Too different and strange to fit in they all feared." While the students at first seem almost perversely indifferent to the new boy's discomfort, an act of kindness soon shows them that just giving someone a chance is all that's needed to make a new friend.

The Remarkable Farkle McBride (Simon & Schuster), written by actor JOHN LITHGOW and illustrated by C.F. Payne, is written in...rhyme! Musical prodigy Farkle masters with ease a succession of instruments, including the violin, flute and trombone, only to tire quickly of each one. "I can't stand the trombone, with its blaat and its blare!/ That racket is more than my eardrums can bear!" Farkle's solution (or, rather, Lithgow's) is just clever enough to please kids and parents alike. The exaggerated illustrations give a farcical air to the tale, which has already put in an appearance on the Times best-seller list.

When the books are alive with the sound of dump trucks, it's likely that JULIE ANDREWS EDWARDS (aided by her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton) is on the job. Dumpy the Dump Truck, illustrated by Tony Walton (Hyperion), the first in a projected series, is written in...prose! Inspired by Andrews' grandson and his love for dump trucks, the story's hero is a neglected dump truck with a stick-to-it attitude who is polished and painted and resumes his rightful place on the farm.

Someone else who has demonstrated perseverance is basketball player MICHAEL JORDAN. Since Jordan has lent his name to everything from cereal to underwear, why not a children's book? Salt in His Shoes (Simon & Schuster) happens to have been written by his mom Deloris Jordan and sister Roslyn M. Jordan. "Mama, how can I grow taller?" a young Michael asks his mother after losing a basketball game. His mother tells him that putting salt in his shoes will help. Though he doesn't notice any improved verticality, he keeps playing. It will come as no surprise that Michael realizes that hard work and dedication are what really count, but the book's straightforward style is still winning. (Note: Before you try the salt trick at home, remember that genes also help.)

Haven't got milk? If the cow isn't producing her daily gallon, maybe the problem isn't what she's eating but what she's hearing. That's the gist of Cassie Loves Beethoven (Hyperion), a book for middle-schoolers from actor ALAN ARKIN. David and Hallie persuade their father to buy a cow, using promises of homemade ice cream as an enticement. Sundaes are a long way off, however, since Cassie won't give any milk--until she is introduced to Beethoven's music. Not content merely to listen, she is soon studying, practicing and ultimately performing in an orchestra.

Moving from Beethoven to banjos, American country music is the inspiration for The Stars That Shine by Julie Clay (Simon & Schuster). The book collects tales based on stories told by America's biggest country-music stars. The collection is clearly geared toward young adults. Each story is followed by biographical information about such performers as TIM MCGRAW, WILLIE NELSON and PATTY LOVELESS, and it's doubtful whether kids are the audience for such facts as when VINCE GILL landed his first recording contract. Still, some of the stories have real poignancy--and who knew that LEANN RIMES was even old enough to have a childhood memory?