I KNOW A RHINO

A spunky preschooler proves she's learned an important life lesson: it's who you know that counts. "I know a Rhino/ We like to take tea," she informs readers, as the huge horned beast daintily pours out a pot and a tiny stool collapses beneath his weight. "I have two sugars/ and Rhino has three." The seven other animals making up her unusual circle include an illness-prone dragon and a leopard with a penchant for formal wear. What's more, as the narrator reveals in the final page, the members of this motley menagerie aren't mere acquaintances; all of them "live with me!" (as beloved stuffed toys that the girl snuggles with as she sleeps). While not quite up to the unfettered goofiness of his Sometimes I Like to Curl Up Like a Ball, Fuge still conveys humor and good cheer with full-bleed spreads that capitalize on the animals' various attributes (one turns vertical when the girl introduces a bubble-bath loving giraffe). He furnishes the stage-like scenes with minimal bright, monochromatic backdrops, keeping the focus on the animal guests' often overwhelming size and elaborate texture. Rhino's portrait, for example, emphasizes the folds of ample flesh that hang over its ribs. Preschoolers will delight in the zoologically incorrect situations put forth by the pert heroine. Ages 3-6. (Oct.)