The Most Amazing Night Book

Basic black is utilized to dashing effect in vivid nocturnal panoramas as Crowther (Robert Crowther's Incredible Animal Alphabet) dots his work with spots of yellow light along with myriad flaps, tabs and even a couple of rotating wheels. Chockablock with intricate details, a different nighttime scene unfolds on each of the book's six spreads. For example, the opening spread of a cityscape depicts-among many intriguing vignettes-a restaurant customer complaining, ``Waiter, there's a fly in my soup'' and a newspaper editor calling ``Hold the front page.'' Atop these bustling buildings sits the book's unifying element: a passenger train that ``departs from Platform 2'' and, aided by pull-tabs, streaks its way across town and countryside, its bright windows fairly gleaming from every page. An airport scene provides added excitement, as one plane takes off and another zooms in for a landing while cars and trucks speed along a nearby overpass. And the nighttime beat goes on: Martians land in a saucer, ghosts cavort in a haunted house, choristers rehearse in church-and the train finally reaches its destination. Youngsters will wish to take this thrilling excursion many times over. Ages 3-8. (Sept.)