The Odd One Out

Teckentrup, creator of hide-and-seek books like Animal 123 and Animal Spots and Stripes, asks readers to scan pleasingly patterned images for an "odd one out." More than 50 pandas tumble across a page, for instance, all but one clutching a stick: "In among all of/ this hullaballoo,/ which panda has lost/ its shoot of bamboo?" Identically posed two-hump camels stand in five measured rows: "Can you see a camel/ with just one bump?" Teckentrup's mod block-print graphics, reminiscent of Laura Ljungkvist's stylized work, present dizzying crowds of creatures%E2%80%94seals, lemurs, penguins, and butterflies among them. If the pictures are altogether charming, inconsistent verb agreement mars the poems; although "A large group of tortoises/ passes on by" and "a cloud of bats/ comes out looking for fun," a "dazzling shoal of fish/ under the sea/ are keeping a secret" and "A cartload of monkeys/ spin around and around." Readers will solve some puzzles handily, while other games pose a comparative challenge, making these visuals compelling through several rounds of play. Ages 2%E2%80%935. (Mar.)