DATE: Tuesday, April 15, 1997               TAG: 9704150067

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E6   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: BOOK REVIEW 

SOURCE: BY KRYS STEFANSKY, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   23 lines

``HILDA HEN'' WILL TICKLE FUNNYBONE OF SCAREDYCATS

THE DARK is scary. No preschooler is going to argue with that.

So when Hilda Hen has to cross the farmyard all by herself and get to the henhouse after sunset, she'll get lots of sympathy from the youngster in your lap.

In beautiful, richly colored linocuts, author/illustrator Mary Wormell's ``Hilda Hen's Scary Night'' (Harcourt Brace & Co.) tells a silly tale that'll tickle the funnybone of even the biggest night-time scaredycat.

On her way to safety, Hilda Hen thinks she sees a snake, a monster, a fox and other things that grow to alarming proportions in her imagination. She makes it, patting herself on the back the entire way and getting a cheer from little listeners who share her fears.

This is a delightful story, quick to read, and it holds a gentle lesson besides - don't let your imagination get the better of you.

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