Adults may avoid discussing subjects like pregnancy, birth, death, and illness with children, but children are sure to fill in the gaps. In playgrounds, on school buses - wherever adults are out of earshot - children chant rhymes that explain the unexplained, test authority, and showcase their wit. The rhymes collected here, gathered by Josepha Sherman and T.K.F. Weisskopf from children and nostalgic adults around the country, say as much about the sliences of adults as about the utterances of children. August House ISBN: 0-87483-444-9 $9.95