If...

In her first book for children, Perry, an artist, suggests a series of impossible propositions, then makes each come true in striking if sometimes disturbing paintings. Her text sets up one scenario after another (``If frogs ate rainbows''; ``If dogs were mountains'') and ends with the suggestion ``If this is the end.../ Then dream up some more!'' Many concepts are funny (``If zebras had stars and stripes''); many are both intriguing and comic. ``If ugly were beautiful,'' for example, is paired with a painting of a warthog--with warts, bristles, wrinkles and all--wearing a glittering diamond tiara fit for a beauty queen. Other visions are more surrealistic: ``If mice were hair'' captions a picture of a child's head aswarm with lanky, squirming mice. Elsewhere, a girl in green sunglasses parts her lips to reveal a row of realistically drawn toes; a blue toddler marches off with a green elephant, holding its tail--which closely resembles the child's own. While the artwork is arresting, the premise would be better served with a more supple, varied text and a stronger ending. Ages 3-up. (Sept.)