Red Bus

Colors, opposites, and the identification of barnyard residents and denizens of the wild are the basic concepts dealt with in this quartet of sturdy board books. Each brightly bordered page contains a folk art-inspired representational painting, with the simplified shapes, muted colors and white outlines reminiscent of batik. Minimal text (``sheep say baa''; ``big elephant'') captions each picture. While the lessons are clear, the subdued palette and the static compositions (in which an animal or object sits stolidly in the center of the page) lack excitement. The gleam of a ``shiny truck,'' the roar of a ``noisy speedboat'' and the surface of a ``scaly crocodile'' are never fully realized. Ages 1-3. (Oct.)