Tiptoe Into Kindergarten

A repetitive but economical text describes a preschooler's discoveries as she spies on her brother's kindergarten class. For example, the lines ""Crawling crawling/ I find cubbies/ full of goody things/ inside"" accompany an ink-and-watercolor illustration of the girl sneaking cookies from someone's lunch bag. The girl remains unseen, even though she can't resist getting into the middle of class activities; the class seems to have some sort of tacit agreement to pretend that she is invisible. The thrill the girl feels in sneaking around compounds her excitement as she observes how the kindergarteners spend their day. Rogers (Best Friends Sleep Over) evokes all the mystique of the ""big kids' "" fun world, and end papers give an aerial view of the cheerful classroom, complete with easel, sink, class calendar, a rice-table-cum-sand-box and computer. This book offers a disarming way to help preschoolers get excited about starting school. Ages 3-6. (Aug.)