Dry or Wet?

On each spread, facing full-color photographs illustrate the opposing concepts of wet and dry. Children frolic in the surf, then snuggle together in a towel; a child is splashed in the face by a hose, while another holds it safely with the water turned off; a flowerbed is pictured both dry and being watered down. As with his other books (Here a Chick, There a Chick; Becca Backward, Becca Frontward), McMillan's photographs are expressive and appealing, and there is a nice humor in several of the pairings. However, the book as a whole is less engaging and ultimately less successful than his previous works, for the concept here is a limited one, easily grasped in its first presentation; one quickly begins to crave new discoveries rather than repeated examples of the same. An afterword suggests that the photographs can be used to introduce other words and expressions""splash,'' ``spray,'' ``high and dry,'' and so onbut for these lessons children would need to rely entirely on the prompting of imaginative adults. Ages 3-7. (March)