What's in the Bag?: A Pop-Up Word Book

From the center of each spread of these Pop-Up Word Books, up pops a bag or a box containing such items as groceries, tools, doctor's and artist's supplies and toys. Although the interiors of the boxes can be easily viewed, the bags remain nearly closed. Actually, the pop-ups seem gratuitous; not only are they static and predictable, but their contents are fully illustrated on the pages and labeled. The design is also a minus: frequently, items are crowded together against a distracting background. Although the text is advanced for the suggested age range, it does provoke thought with questions like ``How many different colored tubes of paint do you see?'' and ``Which foods would you have for dinner?'' Some of the items seem unlikely choices in teaching word recognition to this age group (``cheese spread''; ``liquid detergent''). Annoying, too, is the sexist tenor of a handbag spread with its question, ``Who does this bag belong to--a woman or a man?'' Depicted are such items as a pink hairbrush, a pink umbrella and a pink handkerchief, along with hand cream, nail polish and eyeshadow. Ages 2-5. (Sept.)