Look Inside a Ship

In these Poke & Look Learning Books, inquisitive toddlers are encouraged to explore the inside of a house or ship. The hard pages have holes and windows that reveal the next few pages. In Ship , the text describes how a ship is built and the various uses for it. On-board entertainment, shipwrecks, sailing techniques and naval history are all addressed. In House , busy bees create a building from the ground up, starting with blueprints and continuing through the process of laying foundations, insulating walls, setting up pipe systems, roofing and decorating the place. Congenial illustrations decorate the facts in both books; of the two, the ship book is made more appealing by the inclusion of a variety of boats and sea-going vessels (including the obscure bathysphere!). The house book is inhabited by rather silly-looking animals rather than people, making it less realistic. If the concept for this series is not entirely new, it is particularly well-rendered in a clean, clear style. With all the poking and looking, preschoolers who want to know how everything works should be completely satisfied. Ages 3-5. (Apr.)