Just You and Me, Grandpa: A Pop-Up Storybook

With its markedly small typeface and abundant text, this paper-over-board volume is a good bit more sophisticated than the typical pop-up. And yet, containing only six double-page spreads, it is significantly shorter than most books for youngsters on the upper range of the targeted audience. This somewhat skewed balance aside, Heller's heartfelt story, Yardley's accomplished, realistic watercolor pictures and first-rate paper engineering combine to make this title a worthy choice--especially for reluctant beginning readers. The story recounts a special day Tommy spends fishing with his grandfather. A fishing rod--complete with string--pops off the page as the boy prepares to cast from Grandpa's rowboat (equipped with oars that move when kids pull a tab to make the man row). The young angler pulls in a catch but seems subdued--until Grandpa utters just the right words: ""You know, champ, you don't have to keep this fish. You can send it back to its friends."" They return to the grandfather's cottage (rendered in three dimensions, with an accompanying pull-tab that moves the rocking chair in which the two sit), bringing this wholesome tale to an acceptably sentimental close: ""The best thing about going fishing is spending time with you."" Ages 4-6. (Apr.)