ELEANOR CAMERON put it succinctly in Green and Burning Tree: "Anymemorable children`s book will possess drama, vitality, possibly wit andburnout, and its own dignity - that is, a deep respect for the child`s quickand devastating perceptions." Hearteningly, such books - though few - areproduced by all manner of Canadian authors and publishers. A 40-year-old former soldier who nowteaches accounting, David Richards makes a significant contribution to Canadianhistorical fiction for children with his first novel, Soldier Boys (Thistledown,254 pages, $7.95 paper). This is a meticulous, cinematic depiction of theBattle of Fish Creek in 1885, which was a crucial turning point in the RielRebellion. The events are seen through the eyes of two boys, 13 and 14, oneEnglishCanadian and one Metis. Richards carefully portrays the Winnipeg Riflesregiment of the Queen`s army and a Metis community, as well as the battleitself. He also shows how boys can prove their mettle in a man`s world, wheresometimes grown men notably a drunk on either side - do not. There is some finewriting in Soldier Boys, and the sights and sounds are especially vivid:"The line of green soldiers crept like a worm inching across a great muddyplate" or "...swishing of the men`s feet tramping down the grass andthe click and clank of water bottles, bayonets and tin cups banging againsttheir legs." An elementary-school teacher with fivepublished books for children to her credit, Julie Lawson also writes aboutCanadian history in White jade Tiger (Beach Holme, 164 pages, $8.95 paper) - abook spoiled by something unfelt. This is a timetravel novel in which theheroine slips from the Chinatown of present-day Victoria, British Columbia, tothat of 1882, when Chinese immigrants were arriving by the thousands to work onthe CPR on the mainland. Twelve-year-old jasmine is gratingly normal, exceptfor recurring nightmares. Then suddenly her mother is killed in a car accident,and her nightmares become reality when she is transported to the past and joinsa Chinese boy, who has recently immigrated, in a search for his father and thetoken that will restore his family`s fortunes. The search takes the young people to theFraser Canyon, where poorly paid Chinese CPR labourers are threatened byscurvy, explosions, and other hazards. Lawson`s research is thorough, but thehistorical facts are partially cooked lumps in a strangely frothy stew whippedup by frantic plot twists and histrionic emotions. The sufferings of theChinese remain mere background to jasmine`s adventures, and ultimately one doesnot believe that such adventures could reconcile a child to her mother`s death. Excitement and political correctnesslikewise fail to ensure success in the first and second titles of a new"Junior Nature" series from, A Forest of Suspicionand Penelope`s Eyes (Quintan Publishers, 79 pages, $5.95 paper), both by Josee Plourde, both translated from the French by Frances Morgan and illustrated byLise Monette. According to thepublisher`s blurb, the purpose of this series for children eight to 11 is to"increase awareness" of "the environment, ecology andwildlife." A Forest of Suspicion, about poaching, follows the formula; Penelope`sEyes, aboutseeingeye dogs, does not. Both books are missing something perhaps lost in thetranslation. True, the mystery story in A Forest of Suspicion opens vividly, developsintriguingly, and ends surprisingly. And the dog story in Penelope`s Eyes isinformative,exciting, and sentimental. But Plourde, author of many theatre and televisionscripts, seems not to have mastered the novel. Emotions that might come acrossmovingly with the help of an actor are unaffecting in print. Messages thatmight seem important on the screen seem trite in these books. We do not learnto care about the children or nature. We do learn to care in Dave Glaze`s Pelly (Coteau, 106 pages, $4.95 paper), a "Choice" of the CanadianChildren`s Book Centre. A compelling story written in simple language by ateacher turned first-time novelist, Pelly presents a lonely girl of about 10 (herage is not given) who befriends a wild white pelican on the North SaskatchewanRiver at Saskatoon and keeps it alive through the winter. The motherless girl,Sandra, has just moved to the city, where she lives with her loving butpreoccupied father. Sandra`s problems are merely sketched; her solution, caringfor a fellow creature, is developed in detail. The story`s focus is an accuratedescription of how a warm-water bird might survive despite frigid temperatures,lack of food, cruel humans, a starving predator, and natural hazards. Butdespite its message about the responsibility of mankind for nature, Pelly doesnot suffer from heavyhanded didacticism. There is humour: Ernie the fishmongertells tale after silly tale to explain how he lost part of the sequel to Beeler`s first a finger, andSandra`s new neighbours novel, The Girl in the Well, share their comic cat.There are no which was nominated for the pat answers: Sandra`s neighbours Mr.Christie Award. No Room move and her Pelly eventually in the Well is set in the `30s on migrates.When her second autumn in the Prairies, a time and place Saskatoon begins,Sandra`s search for love also begins all over again. Robert Priest`s Knights of the Endless Day (Viking Penguin,161 pages, $16.99 cloth) is the product of a playwright and poet. While the languageis lively and some scenes are brilliantly hilarious, as a novel for children thisbook does not quite work. Three talented young men, Ogo, Vent, and Fub, areeach sent on a separate quest. Paradox within paradox, the fittest knight, Ogo,is sent on the easiest quest- taking the baby Princess Illia through the"safe and pleasant" land of "Co-Zee" to its mother the GoodQueen Blue - which turns out to be the most difficult quest. Each knight learnshumility, and that might is not right, and that truth and justice will prevail.All this would make a fine children`s book, except that the teller commits thatcardinal sin Tolkien identified in "Children and Fairy Stories" as "covertlysniggering, with an eye on the other grownups present." The unmanning ofOgo to make him a man is an intriguing comment on fashion able, feminism-influenced manners and morals. The huge belly Ogo builds onto his armour toprotect the baby might took wildly funny on stage. But dealing with upside-downsignposts is not an amusing game for those who need to know the way, and arejust learning to read. Altogether there are too many ambiguities in Knightsof the Endless Day, including thesignificance of most of the secondary characters. This fantasy world is highlyseductive, but too treacherous for children. That wholesome is not necessarily dullis proved by Cecil Freeman Beeler`s No Room in the Well (Red Deer College, 174 pages, $8.95 paper), well known to Beeler, who was born in1915 in Nokomis, Saskatchewan. Its protagonist, Corinne Kragh, lives on a bushfarm and accepts change in her small world reluctantly. Soon she will be anadolescent. What`s more, she will have a baby brother or sister. Then her favourite pet dies suddenly. Shealso deals with a bullying neighbour boy, finds her way home in a blizzard,runs the farm when her parents cannot, and makes friends. Corinne herself tellsthe story with an authentic-sounding mixture of colloquial diction ("realcareful"), literary flourish ("faces turned up like a garden of pansies"),and childish prattle (11scaredy"). She reveals herself to be a complex,lovable child who can be strong or weak, intelligent or stupid. No Room inthe Well celebratesthe high seriousness of the inner quest of each individual human being, howeveryoung. Life is also real, earnest, andfascinating in Taking Care of Alabama (Maxwell Macmillan, 144 pages, $9.95paper), an exceptional first novel by the Halifax writer Elizabeth Morantz .Much of the novel takes place in a children`s hospital where 13year-old Datahas been placed because of fainting spells. Physiological causes eliminated,emotional ones are probed, but Dara`s diagnosis and healing do not come fromthe therapist. Friendship, love, and quiet reflection gradually help Datarealize that her small family is very sick, and that she herself must break thechain of bondage to fear. Specifically, Data`s grandfather and father abusetheir wives physically and verbally, and her Elizabeth Morantz grandmother and motheraccept such behaviour and try to hide it. In Data, the unconscious knowledge ofwhat is happening has produced a lurking dread of womanhood. In this rich, almost poetic novel, thehidden secret is revealed with remarkably assured pacing. Symbols such as abride doll and a dead bird are powerful but subtle. Details like her parents`funny story of the "big yella dawg" balance what might otherwise bean overly dark story, as do the presence of positive adults such as Aunt Aliceand the nurse Ruth. The message of hope is clear but not simplistic. Writers for children must respect theiraudience. It was William Strunk and E. B. White in the classic Elements ofStyle whosaid: "No one can write decently who is distrustful of the reader`sintelligence, or whose attitude is patronizing." Of course, White was theauthor of Charlotte`s Web.