Toad on the Road

This entry in the Step into Reading series is so appropriately simple--and suitably silly--that youngsters will be reading right along before they even realize it. The book's whimsical cover sets just the right tone: a bug-eyed, polka-dot-clad toad proud as punch behind the wheel of a vivid red ``bug''--license plate T1. Continuing the fun, the frisky, rhymed text makes the reader's task that much easier--what's not to like about ``Seat belt on? / Here we go! / Not too fast, not too slow''? Lively and colorful, the illustrations of Toad's madcap outing offer unexpected delights, as the car zips by a monster truck here, a Victorian manse there. Whether whizzing through a car wash, fixing a flat tire or stopping for lunch (``Sip and slurp. / Chew and munch''), this vivacious animal cast will help to make one of childhood's earliest accomplishments pure pleasure. Ages 4-6. (May)