Long Live Music!

Part Where's Waldo?, part music history and unmistakably European in origin and flavor, this outsize French import gets its oomph from over-the-top graphics. Musical terms, notes and symbols dance across the pages, joined by a trio of cartoon-like characters. Pursued by Silence the giant, Pippo the dog and a boy named Phil take readers on a whirlwind tour of the origins and development of music. The two take shelter inside a book crammed with information about music. Each turn of the page leads them to a different era, briefly outlined in text and amplified with playful illustrations. A section describing music's prehistoric origins, for instance, features Pippo trying to hide from Silence by literally fading into the background-here, a cave painting. Witty visual asides (Phil springing Pippo from ""jail""-actually the inside of a guitar) and clever perspectives (at one point readers seem to be perched atop the giant's bald pate, peering down at the page over his and Karl Malden-esque nose) threaten to steal the show, but readers will still hear the story's message loud and clear. Well worth a close look. All ages. (Oct.)