Hurray for the Fourth of July

Balancing full-page pictures with a series of panels and combining an original story with traditional rhymes and songs, Watson has created a pleasantly cluttered book. At its center is an extended family preparing for--and then enjoying--a Thanksgiving celebration. Told through the collective voice of the children of the house, the narration of events is choppy but spontaneous: ``It's Thursday, Thanksgiving Day! We get up early. The turkey is already roasting. We take baths and put on our party clothes.'' Although Thanksgiving does not lend itself to the visual vibrancy of the colorful holidays featured in Watson's The Night Before Christmas or A Valentine for You , these illustrations successfully capture the high-spirited anticipation and the pervasive goodwill that surrounds this family-oriented day. Ages 3-6. (Sept.)