Animal Rap!

Both of Crowther's ( The Most Amazing Hide & Seek Alphabet Book ) latest offerings feature a menagerie of amiable, cartoonish creatures who face the reader with earnest stares. Despite the fact that each volume is tagged as ``A Noisy Pop-Up Book,'' neither noise-makers nor sound chips are included. Instead, every beast has a flap for a mouth, which can be opened either by the pull-tab at the bottom of the page or, in the case of the volumes' first and final images, simply by hand. Readers will find each animal's characteristic sound written on the inside of its gullet. Lending momentum to this straightforward, conventional approach is an assortment of witty details: in Animal Snap! a pelican's pointy beak opens to reveal a fishy snack along with an enthusiastic ``gulp!''; Animal Rap! 's mouse is caught nibbling on a piece of cheese. The loopily drawn critters are the real stars here: given their charm, readers won't give a hoot about the books' lack of surprises. Ages 2-up. (Sept.)