SOMETIMES I LIKE TO CURL UP IN A BALL

With a repertoire of comic expressions worthy of Nathan Lane, a plump wombat invites readers to join with him and his pals (which include a koala, a mole and a frog) in a full day of unbridled goofing off. This book from a British duo is silly to the core, but it's also a pointed paean to the power of unscheduled play. Along with curling up like a ball, "so no one can see me because I'm so small," the wombat also explains in simple couplets that sometimes the hero likes to "walk round and round" with pigeons until he falls down dizzy, cover himself in mud and make faces. In the middle of the book the friends hold a race, and it's clear that Fuge relishes the opportunity to show each sprinter striving for a highly idiosyncratic personal best (a centipede marching in close second will illicit giggles) while a gallery of insects cheers. Wombat ends his day doing "what I do best of all," curled up beside his loving mom in their tree trunk home. After working so hard at having fun, no one will begrudge this little ball of bonhomie a well-deserved rest. Ages 2-5. (Oct.)