Where's My Squishy Ball?: A Lift and Touch Book

In the tradition of The Touch-Me Book , this volume's five flaps lift to reveal snippets of dialogue and swatches of various materials, four of them textured and one scented. A tabby cat and a friendly-looking mouse roam through a garden in search of a lost ball. They look behind the rosebush, but discover only ``a ridgy fence back there,'' represented by a piece of corrugated cardboard. The book's most complicated assemblage is also its most pleasing: readers lift a birdhouse flap to peek at a mother bird under whose nest are hidden two soft-to-the-touch blue chicks. In the final spread the animal companions find the ball (which is indeed squishy) and a new playmate, to boot. Brightly colored, stylized drawings make the most of the story's small drama. While the book's paper engineering is not particularly novel, its well-chosen assortment of textures invites reader participation. Ages 3 mos.-5 yrs. (Sept.)