Albert's Ballgame

Easily eclipsing her brief narrative, Tryon's (Albert's Alphabet; Albert's Thanksgiving) rollicking gouache art scores the biggest hit here, displaying the nattily clad animal residents of Pleasant Valley engaged in their favorite rite of spring: playing and watching baseball. Albert, cast as team manager, is curiously absent from most of Tryon's busy illustrations, an omission that may bewilder the amiable duck's fans. But panels and full-page pictures depict plenty of good-natured mayhem, and tracking the capricious ""beanballs,"" ""knuckleballs"" and ""chuckle balls"" pitched in the riotous game will keep kids on their toes. The teammates' facial expressions are especially comical as batters try to outwit fielders by sending ""stray balls and spray balls, curve balls and swerve balls."" Some visual highlights: spectators balance a beach ball as they perform the ""wave""; and a frog and an ostrich who have collided in the outfield stare forlornly at a fly ball that has fallen to the ground. Perky. Ages 5-8. (Apr.)