Having lived in a book-lined house all his life and been frequently called upon to clear at least a few books off the kitchen table so we'll have room to eat, my ten-year-old son Alexander comes by his love of books quite naturally. But not alI children do. Being well aware of the growing need to compete with the television, the VCR, and the computer for their attention, many children's book publishers have taken to packaging their products with related paraphernalia in order to attract the attention of their young readers.

On the front cover of Follow the Moon (A Laura Geringer Book, HarperCollins, 32 pages, $21.95 cloth) it says, "Hear the Song-Read the Book-FREE TAPE". On the back cover in its own plastic case is a cassette tape of author Sarah Weeks singing the whole story. Her voice is captivating and the unusual rhythm of some of the lines make perfect sense in the song. Best of all, the case for the tape is actually attached to the book so it won't get lost. The story is about a newborn sea turtle whose natural instinct is to find the ocean by following the moon. Unfortunately this turtle is attracted instead to a shining mirrored dance ball and gets into trouble. Fortunately he is rescued by a young boy who helps him find his way. Although the book is intended for the 3 to 8 age group, my son, being fond of small creatures and happy endings, enjoyed it too. The illustrations by Montreal artist Suzanne Duranceau are beautifully luminous although the one chosen for the cover does not show her work to its best advantage.

Cat's Cradle: With a Friend or by Yourself (Kids Can Press, 32 pages, $9.95 paper) by Camilla Gryski comes not with a tape but with two colorful strings, all the equipment required to perform the intricate maneuvers described in the book. Gryski is an expert at string games, using them in her storytelling performances across the country. In the book, in both words and detailed drawings, she explains how to make a large number of interesting string configurations including "Fish in a Dish," "Lucky Tea Kettle," and "Two Royal Crowns." I tried. With a friend and by myself. But I couldn't get the hang of any but the most basic moves. I found both the instructions and the drawings very confusing and ended up feeling just the way I do reading my computer manual for too long. Now maybe if the book had come with a video....

Aunt Mary Buttons (Self-published, 32 pages, $12.95 paper) by Diane Jarvis Jones comes, not surprisingly, with a button and is signed by the author: "May all your buttons be love buttons." Intended for children ages 5 and up who are trying to cope with the death of a loved one, the book tells the tender story of a young girl and her terminally-ill aunt. When the girl is just a baby, the aunt begins making button blankets for her. These are pieces of cloth with all kinds and colors of buttons sewn on them to form people, animals, a fully- decorated Christmas tree, the night sky filled with angels, stars and balloons. Jones herself makes these blankets which serve as the illustrations for the book. Although the story itself is not very well written, the blankets are delightful and might get the rest of us inspired enough to do something with all those buttons that have been piling up in the button box over the years.

A Child's Portrait of Shakespeare (Black Moss, 64 pages, $6.95 paper) by Lois Burdett comes with neither buttons, tape, nor string. It is such a charming and intelligent book that readers of all ages should need no added incentive to give this one a try. Lois Burdett has been bringing Shakespeare and Elizabethan England to her Grade 2 students for twenty years. This book is ample proof as to how much they've learned and how much they've loved it. Running across the top of each page is a rhyming narrative of Shakespeare's life written by Burdett herself. Below this are the writings and drawings of the children themselves. In answer to the question, "Who is William Shakespeare?", the children have drawn charming pictures and written diaries by the bard's parents and later himself, letters between Will and Anne Hathaway, brief commentaries on the state of life in Elizabethan England. These are all reproduced in the children's own printing, complete with spelling mistakes.

It really is true what it says on the front cover: "Shakespeare Can Be Fun!" Any child will long for a teacher like Lois Burdett who is obviously deserving of the many awards she has received. For that matter, any parent reading this book will wish they'd had a teacher like her all those years ago.

Another book which travels back in time is The Last Quest of Gilgamesh (Tundra Books, 24 pages, $19.95 cloth), in which Ludmila Zeman retells and illustrates one of the oldest stories in the world, the epic of Gilgamesh. This book is the last of a trilogy, the first two being Gilgamesh the King and The Revenge of Ishtar. Here Gilgamesh, who was the first tragic (and human) hero in world literature, embarks on the final quest: the search for immortality. He goes through various terrors and temptations while searching for the secret. Eventually he discovers that immortality lies in the good he has accomplished during his lifetime. Zeman's marvelous illustrations are based on various artifacts, bas-reliefs, and tables found in ancient Mesopotamia. The book does refer back to the events and characters of the first two volumes and for those readers not already familiar with the Gilgamesh story, this could be somewhat confusing.

The Twilight Marsh and Other Wilderness Adventures (Polestar, 92 pages, $10.95 paper) by Todd Lee is also a sequel to an earlier book but here it is not necessary to be familiar with the previous adventures of Gary and Bob, two young brothers living with their parents on a remote cattle ranch in northern BC Each of these linked stories tells an adventure involving a specific wild bird or animal and includes many facts about the natural world, most of it dispensed by the father who seems to be a walking encyclopedia on the subject. The stories rely heavily on rather stilted dialogue to convey this information and each also contains a moral lesson to be learned. At the end of "Learning to Live", for instance, Gary, the 10 year-old narrator concludes with glee, "From our neighbors of feather and fur, Bob and I discovered something of value for ourselves: good habits, learned while we are young, can be helpful to us the rest of our lives!" Too many morals, too many facts: these stories crumble under the weight of all they are meant to carry.

Much more skillfully written and structured is The Inuk Mountie Adventure (HarperCollins, 138 pages, $14.95 cloth) by Eric Wilson, the fourteenth volume in the Tom and Liz Austen mystery series. While visiting the Arctic's Gjoa Haven on a student exchange program, Tom Austen is drawn into a web of international political intrigue. He must uncover the true motives of charismatic Canadian Prime Minister, James Dunbar, and so save Canada from a disastrous proposed union with the United States. Like all good mysteries for any age, this one is filled with murder, suspense, and double-dealing. It also contains facts about northern Canadian history, the Franklin expedition, and Inuit culture, all of which are skillfully woven into the story. There are only a few minor lapses into moralizing about the evils of tobacco and cocaine. Like all good mysteries for any age. Wilson's latest is a real page-turner.

Although not a mystery, the same can be said of Melanie Bluelake's Dream (Coteau Books, 156 pages, $4.95 paper) by Saskatchewan teacher, Betty Fitzpatrick Dorion. It is the story of an 11-year-old Cree girl who moves off the reserve to the city of Prince Albert where her mother hopes to attend training school so she will eventually be able to support herself and her daughter. To this point Melanie has been mostly raised by her grandmother on the reserve. Now she finds herself in the city with her mother and she doesn't want to be there. She dreams only of returning to Elk Crossing.

Dorion takes an uncompromising look at what life is like for Melanie and her mother in Prince Albert. She does not fall into the trap of romanticizing what can only be described as their abject poverty. The characters are strong, their story compelling, and Dorion draws the reader deep into their lives. As the novel unfolds and Melanie's dream eventually comes true, the adult reader anyway is likely to be reminded of the old adage, "Be careful what you wish for." At what a high cost come the choices these characters are forced to make! Is Melanie's mother being punished for trying to change their lives or does it only seem that way? "It's not fair, it's not fair!" said the voice in my head. There is an underlying bleakness to this book which may or may not be lost on the intended 7 to 12 age group but which certainly left me thinking about Melanie and her mother long after I closed this book. This is Dorion's first book and I for one hope there will be many more.