>As the mounting evidence demonstrates, these days if you're a celebrity who can speak, chances are you'll also want to write a children's book. But a sampling of titles for small fry shows that, with rare exceptions, stars should leave the kid lit to the pros.
Marsupial Sue by John Lithgow, illustrated by Jack E. Davis Lithgow of 3rd Rock from the Sun won critical acclaim and big sales for his first children's book, The Remarkable Farkle McBride, published last year. His second, the clever, rhyming tale of a misfit kangaroo who "hated the hopping that kangaroos do," charms as well. (Simon & Schuster, $17.95)
Just the Two of Us by Will Smith, illustrated by Kadir Nelson Expanding on the 1980 Grover Washington Jr. hit, Smith wrote and recorded this paean to the love between a father and a son in 1998. Three years later he has turned the song into a book that still offers little more than clunky prose ("That night I don't think one wink I slept") and schmaltz. (Scholastic, $16.95)
Olivia Saves the Circus by Ian Falconer The adorable, impish piglet from last year's critically acclaimed, bestselling Olivia returns. This time she's telling tales in school—claiming that when a local circus crew was felled by ear infections, she performed all their acts. The quirky drawings alone are worth the price. (Atheneum, $16)
Brooklyn Bridge by Lynn Curlee With the World Trade Center's Twin Towers gone, this gloriously illustrated history of the 1870-83 construction of another skyscraping New York landmark, known then as the "eighth wonder of the world," arrives at an especially welcome moment. (Atheneum, $18)
Rock Steady, A Story of Noah's Ark by Sting, illustrated by Hugh Whyte The illustrations are bright and appealing, but the words, borrowed from Sting's 1987 song of the same name, fall flat without music. All proceeds benefit the Rainforest Foundation, a group Sting cofounded. (HarperCollins, $16.95)
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