Where Are You, Little Zack?

Floca's (Poppy; The Voyager's Stone) sprightly ink and watercolor art is the most innovative feature of a caper that meshes elements of counting, cumulative and search-and-find stories. After taking ""the number 1 train on track number 2"" to Grand Central Station, three country mallards realize that their youngest brother is missing. Accompanied by a growing entourage (""4 frantic commuters, 5 friendly taxi drivers,"" etc.), the trio takes a whirlwind tour of New York City searching for their elusive sibling, whom youngsters can spot-usually with little effort-on just about every spread: in each appearance he's pursuing a different fish. Giving a welcome, quirky twist to the story's counting component, the authors finally have 80,000 fans from a baseball game join the ducks' search party (too bad that Yankee Stadium seats only about 58,000). Floca provides a fun introduction to New York City landmarks with his busy, highly populated full-spread cartoons, and all will giggle at his comical images chronicling the mischievous antics of this web-footed brood: Zack pops out from a snack bar cooler and startles passersby by peering out of a manhole cover; one of his brothers perches on an art gallery display case, boldly imitating the stance of a Degas-like sculpture of a dancer. Readers can count on a ducky little escapade. Ages 4-8. (Mar.)