Altoona Baboona

This one-joke, disjointed text does not measure up to the humor of Bynum's artwork: it is the first book she has both written and illustrated. Altoona Baboona travels by hot air balloon-a to Cancun-a and Rangoon-a, bringing home Raccoon-a and Loon-a to live with her on her dune-a. The digital pen, ink and watercolor illustrations are fresh and lively, with airy landscapes and a pleasing gracefulness of line. But without any character or plot development, the book never really takes off. One can only hope to see Bynum's artistic talents applied to more of a story very soon-a. Ages 2-6. (Mar.)