Night Rabbits

The creator of Mr. Cookie Baker and All My Little Ducklings blends kaleidoscopic art and fanciful language in this atmospheric tale of nocturnal perambulations. As ``Day is ending/ Nightime coming,'' two simply drawn, personable bunnies undertake a series of adventures (with ``Thunder crashing/ Lightning flashing,'' for example, the pair huddles beneath a tree). Wellington's gouache, watercolor and colored-pencil illustrations are at once sophisticated and childlike, with busy, detailed patterns and flattened perspectives. Her snow-white rabbits are especially effective against her multicolored backgrounds. Lilting cadences make playful use of onomatopoeia and other linguistic legerdemain: a ``big bear in the orchard lumbering'' sounds a mighty ``thumping bumping thud,'' while the bunnies ``quiver shiver shake'' during a storm and ``scurry hurry home'' as daylight arrives. Ages 2-5. (Mar.)