The Young Child's Busy Book of Playing, Learning, Stories, and Rhymes

True to its title, this copiously illustrated compendium is indeed ``busy.'' Carter attempts to entertain a broad spectrum of ages, resulting in a rather unfocused hodgepodge of activities--from relatively sophisticated arts and crafts projects and experiments with plants to early counting and alphabet games. Unfortunately, some of the ideas presented are paired with insufficiently detailed instructions. For example, although an illustration accompanies directions for making a ``dam system,'' the cursory text reads: ``Fill hollows of sand with water and use pipes to connect them.'' The book also contains a handful of well-known children's stories and numerous rhymes, as well as samplings of Carter's sprightly original verse: ``Wouldn't it be funny / If cows made honey / And all the bees in the world / Said moo?'' The volume's imaginative, versatile illustrators contribute a wide range of drawings, including realistic animals, cheerful cartoonlike characters and explicit how-to artwork. Ages 1-5. (Oct.)