Animal Tracks

In this interactive parent-child book, Dorros ( Rain Forest Secrets ; Me and My Shadow ) brings hidden woodland animals up close by depicting their tracks--sure evidence of the presence of other creatures in our midst. Readers follow these tracks across watercolor landscapes, turn each page and find the culprit--a turtle dragging itself to a sunny rock, a porcupine heading for a bark breakfast. Although Dorros's approach admirably enlivens his subject, freeing it from frequently dry field-guide literature, his bland palette and somewhat listless text fail to convey the excitement children can feel on encountering tracks. The book is, however, instructive as an introduction to woodland-stream fauna, relative size of tracks and other signs of animal presence. Youngsters may be most intrigued by Dorros's demonstration of how to ``trap'' tracks by luring nocturnal animals to a flour-covered area. Ages 3-7. (Nov.)