Jimmy's Sunny Book

Youngsters' faces will turn as sunny as the title character's when they examine Dowling's particularly beguiling book, which, like The Bake-a-Cake Book (reviewed below), makes distinctive use of acetate sheets. In bright, childlike pictures, Jimmy and his Puppy go about their simple routine: waking up, greeting the garden creatures, splashing in a backyard pool, watching the ``beautiful sunset colors.'' What makes this outing so special, however, are the many ways the illustrations change their configurations--``the garden fills with sunshine,'' for example, as a pull-tab changes a windowed scene from early-morning purple to sun-drenched brilliance. With the pull of another tab, a placid frog's eyes open and its tongue darts out to trap a passing fly. One especially inventive spread shows boy and dog cavorting with their shadows; on the opposite page, ``a cloud covers the sun'' and shadows are gone. But pulling on the bottom tab reveals sun and shadows, while another tab on the page changes Jimmy's expression from bemusement to delight. And delight is what this fetching (and fetchingly priced) book is all about. Ages 2-6. (June)