Seeing Saying Doing Playing

The round-faced children in this inviting, large-format volume are busy indeed--demonstrating just about every action word known to children. In a style suggestive of Richard Scarry, each word is labeled alongside the figure carrying out the action. Twelve boldly colored spreads display familiar settings, including a classroom, swimming pool, farm, campsite, zoo and park. The gerunds presented range from the simple concepts of the book's title to more sophisticated words--sauntering, fluttering, bellowing, nuzzling. Gomi exhibits his characteristic keen sense of humor: a girl at the end of a diving board is identified as ``reconsidering,'' while a child snickering at another who is losing his swimsuit is ``teasing.'' The book ends with a list of the action words included, which kids are encouraged to find. Readers of this book will be engaging in two simultaneous activities: learning and laughing. Ages 3-8. (May)