Today Is Monday

Taking his culinary cue from the well-known children's song, Carle dishes up a smorgasbord of creatures and comestibles. Bold spreads feature larger-than-life birds and animals enthusiastically partaking of their favorite foods: a mottled snake sucks up unruly spaghetti strands, while a calico cat lays a protective paw on Thursday's roast beef. Though the cumulative rhyme is little more than a grocery list, Carle injects energy and movement with his signature rainbow-like collages. Exotic hues--a turquoise elephant, an emerald fish, a parrot of Technicolor plumage--glow with vitality as if illuminating the animal's inner core. Yet despite their radiance these are down-to-earth animals imbued with the loving clumsiness of a child's artwork. The final spread shows children--also of various skin colors--wolfing down the various foods at a sumptuous banquet, as the featured animals look on from paintings on the wall. The song's music and lyrics bring this feast to a satisfying close. Ages 3-7. (Feb.)