The Worthy Wonders Lost at Sea

The three-person band (and its manager, Uncle Ulysses) that debuted in Once Upon A to Z here sets sail for the island of Dominica-nica-nica, where the musicians are scheduled to perform. When their boat crashes onto rocks and sinks, the crew swims to shore, not realizing until the tale's end that they have actually reached their destination. But this scant plot is not the focal point of the text, nor of the vibrantly hued collages that creatively convey the spirit of the tale's tropical setting. Rather, the heart of the book is a ``word search'' that entails finding shorter words incorporated into longer words (which are highlighted by colored ink) and then spotting the item in the accompanying picture. Thus, on a page opposite an illustration depicting the island's birds, readers pick out names from such words as ``crowd'' (crow), ``regret'' (egret) and ``acknowledged'' (owl). Though the concept is playful, the effort to incorporate the pictured objects within other words often results in forced prose (birds ``ducked and dove their way through the palms like acrobats to hear the swanky musicians play''). But kids will have fun nonetheless, and a word and picture key will help them out if they get stuck. Ages 6-10. (Nov.)