Have a Look, Says Book.

A giant book and a larger-than-life armchair invite a father and daughter to read with them: “Hello there, says Chair. Have a look, says Book.” (The line shows up just in time to do double duty on the title page.) Seated in the armchair, the pair sails through the book’s cover and inside, where friendly animals and objects present themselves as things to be touched and felt: “I am furry, says Kitten,/ I am wooly, says Sock./ I am wet, says Mitten./ We are fleecy, says Flock (stock-still on a rock).” Hawkes’s (The Three Mouths of Little Tom Drum) droll, dreamy sequences play with scale as the girl peeks out of a giant sock, avoids drips from a colossal mitten, then perches on the tail of the y in “fleecy.” In his first book as author, longtime children’s editor Jackson’s jaunty, rhythmic verse draws readers in—it’s the kind of book that’s easy to memorize. “Comfy the one, cozy the pair,” the book concludes fondly as father and daughter float off into the night sky. “Toodle-oo, you two there.” A shoe-in for the bedtime rotation. Ages 3–7. [em](Apr.) [/em]