Color Farm

Through imaginative use of cutouts, Ehlert ( Color Zoo ) has created two books in one. Each recto page shows a barnyard animal--cow, chicken, rooster, duck--composed almost entirely of geometric shapes. Turn the page, and the verso shows one of those shapes cut out and labeled on a contrasting background. Ehlert's characteristically electric palette and her strong, sure sense of design make this a stimulating primer of basic shapes and familiar animals. The book will also encourage awareness of and experimentation with the ways shapes combine to form--or even simply suggest--the objects in our world. Ages 1-5. (Sept.)