When my children were little, Arsenic Hour struck our house nightly at 5 p.m. Dinner wasn't cooked, my children were dissolving in tears, and I was worn out. I wanted something at least as strong as arsenic to put an end to the relentlessness.

Eventually I discovered a better solution-children's books which can serve as anything from mood elevators to mind relaxers. If your child's grumpy and neither food, nor nap will work, try a book! Here are proven prescriptions to get you through the day.

These have a simple story that repeats all events as they build to a conclusion. This repetitive chorus becomes quickly familiar, urges children join in, and delights them in the telling.

Specific new medication? Pat Thomson's Drat That Fat Cat! (Scholastic, $15.95; ages 2-5). A gluttonous, overweight feline, on each page, "pads along the path in search of food". Always successful, but never satisfied he gobbles a rat, duck, dog, an old lady and a bee whole before an attack of hiccups saves his victims. Each animal makes a noise a child will enjoy repeating and throughout, there's a continual question-answer chorus: "But was that cat fat enough? No, he was not." The repeatable refrain and sound-making are sure-fire cures for a sour mood.

This will pull any child out of a foul mood, even if the words are not understood. Generally books incorporate rhythm and rhyme. They vary from the bouncy to the hypnotic. Either works, depending on the need.

Specific new medication? Lisa Wheeler's Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum (Little Brown, $15.95; ages 2-4) features a number of animals struggling to free themselves from "chewy-gooey", "icky-sticky" melty gum on the road. Will they escape the honk-honk truck bearing down on them? They must work together to "chew, and chew, and chew and chew and chew" to create a "light and lifty", "nifty drifty" bubble which "bobbles through the air".

An involving interactive book is a great antidote for moments of terrible temper. Save these flap books for special sharing that way the pages won't get torn, you'll teach your child about the precious quality of books, as you escape a disagreeable moments.

Specific new medication? Suse MacDonad's Here a Chick, Where a Chick? (Scholastic, $10.95; ages 1-3) has bright illustrations, few words and its simple story leads a merry hunt through a farm to find some chicks. The title is chorused throughout and the response is revealed by the flip of a flap. As flaps turn you name the animals and make the correct sound. This book gives four kinds of interaction in one-naming, chorusing, noise making, and flap lifting.

There's nothing like a tuneful reprieve to soothe a savage. No matter how tone-deaf you are, your child will respond to a song!

Specific new medications? The story of the naughty bunny who won't listen and becomes a goon by the tune's end is humorously recounted in Paul Brett Johnson's Little Bunny Foo-Foo (Scholastic, $15.95; ages 1-5). While Charise Harper gives the traditional preschool tune new verses, meaning, story, and moral fiber in Itsy Bitsy, the Smart Spider (Dial, $9.99; ages 1-4).

A book that lends itself to movements can create another focus to turn negative energy into a positive experience.

Specific new medications? Patricia Polacco's Oh, Look! (Philomel, $16.99; ages 2-4) is a variation on the familiar "going on a bear hunt" rhyme heard in so many preschools. Polacco's protagonists are three goats who escape through gate and cavort a brook knowing they "Can't go over it,/ can't go under it,/ can't go around it..." and so they go through a gate, across a bridge, climb up a hill. Each action can inspire movement as the goats escape and return home again.

Sometimes you just have to slow down the speeding world and open up a conversation to discuss pictures, learn something new, or talk about a concern.

Specific new medications? You might start a serious talk about a family issue with a book like Kes Gray's Baby on Board (Simon and Schuster, $15.95; ages 4-6), a humorous look at a pregnant mom and a baby-to-be. Or learn something new with Dorling Kindersley, a publishing company known for board books with stunning photographs which leave room for discussion. Their new babygenius series features Zoo Animals and Four Seasons (both $6.00; for ages 2-3). Building fans can consider trucks and counting at the same time in K.C. Olson's Construction Countdown (Holt, $14.95; ages 2-4)

Laughter lightens both of your spirits. A little laughter goes a long way to restore good humor and vanquish crabbiness.

Specific new medication? Look for silliness like that found in Lisa McCourt's I Love You, Stinky Face (Scholastic, $10.99; ages 2-5). Newly released in board book form, the book is a dialogue between a loving mother and her questioning little boy who wonders if he would still be loved if he were a "big, scary ape", or a "super smelly skunk", or a "swamp creature with slimy, smelly seaweed hanging from my body". This loving mama has loving cures to fit each situation...all of which end with her reassurances of love!

From waking to bed, there are more transitions with a young child than seem humanly possible to handle. Parents who are looking for relief can depend on the curative power of children's books.

You've survived the Arsenic Hour only to be faced with bedtime struggles? Not if you know the secret of the Four B's. Setting up a nightly routine of bath, brushing, bed, and book provides a comfortable ritual children can count on. Look for quiet, lulling books that will reassure your child against those things that go bump in the night. Here are some recent bedtime stories.

Maribeth Boelt's Looking for Sleepy (Whitman, $14.95; ages 3-5) Little Bear and his Papa search for Sleepy as they snack, bathe, zip fuzzy pajamas, read stories, and cuddle. Little Bear is a great bedtime role model.

Joanne Ryder's Won't You Be My Kissaroo? (Harcourt, $16.00; ages 1-3) follows a small lamb who frolics from a waking kiss to "a bedtime kiss will tuck you tight/ and keep you cozy through the night."

Varsha Bajaj's How Many Kisses Do You Want Tonight? (Little Brown, $15.95; ages 1-3) finds comforting mom and dad animals repeating this lovely question as you count and rhyme your way to a peaceful sleep.

There's bilingual reassurance in Lisa Wheeler's Te Amo, Bebe, Little One (Little Brown, $15.95; ages 1-3) From a baby's birth through the first year a lovely refrain is repeated through the rhyming growing story.