The Home

The Very Busy Life of Olaf and Venus series highlights the adventures of Olaf, a big blue elephant, and Venus, a tiny mouse, in four board books by Pierre Pratt. In Home, domestic scenes offer opportunities for simple vocabulary. On one spread, a clearly labeled empty ""bathtub"" stands alone against a white background; the opposite page bursts with color as the pair throws a large beach ball back and forth, water splashing everywhere. Car shows the two friends driving a red convertible to the ""sea,"" past a ""porcupine."" They buy fruit, flowers and shoes in Shopping. And in Park, Venus rides on the back of a dog and a toddler named Sam says, ""hello."" The illustrations convey warmth as they offer a familiar context for the words. ( May)