IF YOU'RE HAPPY AND YOU KNOW IT!

Ormerod (the Miss Mouse books) and Gardiner (the Poppy and Max books) riff on a favorite children's song in what looks to be a surefire circle time favorite. An unnamed girl who brings to mind a blonde version of Gardiner's Poppy character spearheads the merriment. "One day a little girl felt happy. So she sang," begins the text. When the familiar song lyrics follow ("If you're happy and you know it, clap you hands"), eight members of the animal kingdom—fancifully rendered in buoyantly improbable colors and patterns—respond with his or her own version. "No, no, no," a patchwork puppy rejoins. "If you're happy and you know it, wave your tail—swirl, twirl!" Admitting to an unimpressive tail, a striped blue elephant suggests, "Flap your ears!" "Ridiculous!" claims a crocodile, "If you're happy and you know it, snap your teeth—snip, clip!" as he shows off a mouthful of triangular newspaper collage incisors. Gardiner varies the spreads, showcasing each animal to maximum effect: a hyena, in several spot illustrations, rolls with giggles, while a close-up of a gorilla plays up his chest-thumping girth ("boom! boom! "). The wrap-up line feels limp after the energetic lead-in; the preceding pages bubble with infectious glee. Ages 4-8. (Feb.)