We Go to the Zoo

These Cuddle board books make a little concept go a long way. Cleanly reproduced color photos of toddlers and the merest of text suggest, variously, a day at preschool and a trip to the zoo. Hathon snaps her multiracial subjects in a variety of relaxed encounters--the children seem candid and unself-conscious, the settings entirely natural. The preschool, for example, is slightly cramped, its facilities falling appealingly short of storybook perfection. The photos in Zoo likewise lend themselves to vicarious adventures, as Hathon cleverly includes her child models in her views of the animals. Children press their hands against the glass walls of the polar bears' swimming tank, group themselves in front of the seals at feeding time, and so on. And even tough-minded adults may picture themselves in place of the toddler shown hugging first a chimpanzee and then a trio of monkeys. Ages 6 mos.-3 yrs. (Dec.)