Out of the Box

A pair of boxed sets allows youngest readers to tote favorite characters. Introducing the Little Prince: Board Book Gift Set contains a quartet of handsize board books cleverly adapted from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's novel and highlighting his artwork. I Am the Little Prince/Je Suis le Petit Prince unfolds with one line of English and its French translation per page, laying the groundwork for the novel from which they were sprung ("I live on a small planet"; "Look at my beautiful flower!" etc.). The other three unspool in English only: in A Day with the Little Prince, the boy cares for his planet ("He sweeps out the volcanoes"); tabbed pages highlight the fox he tames, the flower he tends and more in Friends of the Little Prince; and Counting with the Little Prince goes from "One Little Prince" up through "Five planets." (Harcourt/Red Wagon, $12.95 12p ages 1-3 ISBN 0-15-204726-3; Apr.)

Fans of Holly Hobbie's bosom buddies can now take Travels with Toot and Puddle everywhere they go. The three titles appear in small paper-over-board editions—Toot and Puddle; Toot and Puddle: A Present for Toot; and Toot & Puddle: You Are My Sunshine The resealable package sports Velcro closures and a retractable plastic handle; three illustrated postcards are tucked inside. (Little, Brown, $11.99 32p each ages 3-6 ISBN 0-316-14564-5; Mar.)

True Companions

The winsome bunny star of Flora's Blanket returns in Flora's Surprise by Debi Gliori. While her older brothers and sisters are busy planting the family garden, Flora plants a brick. "I'm growing a house," she announces. As everyone else's plantings yield glorious results, "How's your brick, Flora?" becomes a running sibling joke. But Flora is vindicated when, the following spring, a friendly blackbird turns the planting into a cozy nest. (Scholastic/Orchard, $15.95 32p ages 2-6 ISBN 0-439-45590-1; Mar.)

The younger brother of the heroine in Stella, Star of the Sea, and other titles by Marie-Louise Gay, gets his own moment in the sun in Good Morning, Sam. Comical pictures of Sam attempting to get dressed by himself or to find his own underwear escalate until big sister Stella comes to the rescue. (Groundwood, $14.95 32p ages 2-5 ISBN 0-88899-528-8; Feb.)

Bruce Coville's latest adaptation of one of the Bard's masterpieces, William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, illus. by Tim Raglin, will forsooth elicit applause—and laughter—from youngsters as it transports them to ancient Illyria where not all is as it appears. With an abundance of quotations from the original play plus smooth scene transitions, the accessible narrative reveals the plot's ample comical convolutions, put into merry motion with the shipwrecked Viola's decision to disguise herself as a young man to gain entry into the court of Duke Orsino. Raglin's earth-toned, etching-like art enhances the robust humor with its caricature portraits of the players. (Dial, $16.99 40p ages 8-up ISBN 0-8037-2318-0; Mar.)

Rhinos "practice slides/ and knuckleballs," "throw heat from the hill" and "crack dingers out of the park" in Rhinos Who Play Baseball by Julie Mammano, the fifth title in which the heroes teach youngsters the lingo of favorite sports (Rhinos Who Surf; Rhinos Who Snowboard; etc.). Little Leaguers will appreciate the lively, full-bleed watercolors and playfully arranged type that pumps up the action. (Chronicle, $13.95 28p ages 4-8 ISBN 0-8118-3605-3; Jan.)

The team behind the series of Mind-Stretching Math Riddles, which began with The Grapes of Math, continues with Math Appeal by Greg Tang, illus. by Harry Griggs. Each riddle presents a problem (e.g., "Boston Pea Party" posits: "A pea would find it rather odd,/ To be alone inside a pod./ They like to hang out with their friends,/ For them the party never ends!/ Can you count up all the peas?/ With 11's it's a breeze!") and suggests a way to solve it. Griggs's illustrations prompt readers to look for symmetries and patterns. (Scholastic, $16.95 40p ages 7-10 ISBN 0-439-21046-1; Feb.)

Yvonne Jagtenberg follows up Jack the Wolf with Jack's Rabbit. Here, Jack attempts to have his rabbit sit still for a portrait, but when the rabbit bounds out the window, Jack is crestfallen. Lucky for Jack, he eventually discovers the rabbit, who by now is very tired—making Jack's second attempt at portraiture a success. Jagtenberg's bold compositions mimic a child's artistry. (Roaring Brook/Porter, $15.95 32p ages 3-6 ISBN 0-7613-1844-5; Mar.)

In Gaspard and Lisa's Rainy Day, the first of two new titles by Anne Gutman, illus. by Georg Hallensleben, the pair's quest for fun things to do indoors lands them in hot water; and Lisa adopts a hilarious attitude to her family's new addition ("My best friend, Gaspard, promised me that he would never talk to the baby. And we could pretend that it didn't exist") in Lisa's Baby Sister. (Knopf, $9.95 each 32p ages 4-8 ISBN 0-375-82252-6; -82251-8; Mar.)

In Hold Tight! by John Prater, Baby Bear—in his sixth starring role—wonders, why do the laundry when there's fun to be had? The young hero imagines a box first as an airplane, then a train. "Want to come?" he asks Grandbear. "Hold tight!" says Grandbear, adroitly hoisting the box with aviator Baby Bear at the helm, and readers can easily discern from Grandbear's crinkly-eyed bemusement that he doesn't really mind being distracted from his chores. (Barron's, $5.95 paper 32p ages 6 mos.-4 yrs. ISBN 0-7641-2304-1; Mar.)

Papa picks up Kara and her stuffed bunny from Mama's house for her first visit since Papa's new wife, Peggy, has moved in, in the sequel to Missing Rabbit, Room for Rabbit by Roni Schotter, illus. by Cyd Moore. The illustrations capture the affection Papa and Peggy share while simultaneously conveying Kara's dismay at the changes since Peggy's arrival. Mama, Papa, and Peggy all find ways to assure Kara that there will always be room in their homes and hearts for her—and Rabbit, too. (Clarion, $15 32p ages 3-6 ISBN 0-618-18183-0; Apr.)

The heroine who made her debut in Fran's Flower is seriously neglecting her dog Fred—or so Fred thinks in Fran's Friend by Lisa Bruce, illus. by Rosalind Beardshaw—and Fran's art project must be for someone else. Large scale, candy-colored acrylic paintings put readers right in the thick of Fran's cutting and paint-sloshing, as Fred tries to insert himself into the process, only to end up paint-splattered—yet Fred is the recipient in the end. (Bloomsbury, $15.95 32p ages 4-8 ISBN 1-58234-777-8; Mar.)

Flip a Flap

The follow-up to the paper-over-board Peek-a-Moo!, Peek-a-Zoo! by Marie Torres Cimarusti, illus. by Stephanie Peterson, engages readers in a variation of the favorite childhood game with different animals hiding beneath flaps that resemble claws, paws, etc. ("Guess who? Peek-a-"). When readers turn down the flap, they uncover the animal's identity ("roar! Says the lion"). A human child appears as the grand finale. (Dutton, $9.99 12p ages 2-5 ISBN 0-525-46971-0; Feb.)

Inspired by the bestselling Rainbow Fish, two additional lift-the-flap books, Sea of Riddles and Hide-and-Seek, both by Marcus Pfister, feature the aquatic hero. As Miss Cuttle the teacher sets up a game of I Spy in the first title, Rainbow Fish and his friends learn a lot about the ocean floor and its inhabitants; in the second, Rainbow Fish is it, but each classmate he finds becomes a friend. (North-South/Night Sky, $3.99 each 16p ages 3-7 ISBN 1-59014-111-3; -110-5; Feb.)

The paper-over-board book Animals Everywhere! by Thea Feldman, illus. by Tammie Lyon, features 3-D dioramas of Arctic, jungle and ocean environments that spring to life with a pull of the arrowed tabs. Each spread features four rhymes ("But look closely/ and you will note/ someone hop by/ with a white coat!") that hint at the animals to be found in each scene. (Intervisual/Piggy Toes, $9.95 12p ages 4-up ISBN 1-58117-208-7; Feb.)

Who ever heard of a chef wearing a tutu and toe shoes? In Flip Flap People by Andrew Crowson, youngsters can create this and other off-kilter career combos by turning the board book's mix-and-match panels. Flip Flap Fairytale transforms familiar storybook characters from top to bottom (e.g., a prince with dragon feet or a mermaid's tail). (Big Fish [Sterling, dist.], $5.95 each 10p ages 2-4 ISBN 1-4027-0243-4; -0242-6; Feb.)

Similarly, the paper-over-board Silly Animal Mix-Ups by Steve Harpster allows readers to assemble 9,000 different creatures by flipping the heavy card stock pages—divided into head, midriff and tail—attached with a spiral binding. One such combo: a being with a buffalo head, parrot's wings and bear feet. (Sterling, $7.95 ages 3-7 ISBN 0-8069-9284-0; Feb.)

More wacky combinations crop up in Emma Dodd's No Place Like Home: A Crazy Criss-Cross Book of Animal Mix-Ups. "Diving in the deep blue sea/ Is not where camels want to be." Woven with strips of paper, a picture of the out-of-place animal appears on the opposite page; a mighty tug of the accompanying levers reveals a creature better suited for the environment in question. Hot Dog Cool Cat: A Crazy Criss-Cross Book of Animal Opposites follows the same format with animals found closer to home. (Dutton, $9.99 each 10p ages 2-5 ISBN 0-525-46982-6; 46981-8; Feb.)

In a follow-up to their Long Train: 101 Cars on the Track by Sam Williams, illus. by Ken Wilson-Max, 101 Trucks portrays colorful vehicles headed for Hollywood. The numbered trucks rumble across the page horizontally, each with a liftable flap that reveals its contents (e.g., "gigantic cranes," "a stunt-performing plane," "windows and drapes," and "boots and capes." (Scholastic/Cartwheel, $12.95 10p ages 3-5 ISBN 0-439-39542-9; Mar.)

The "magic finger" once again spins to reveal the correct response in two additions to the Magic World of Learning series created by Jay Young, with text by Moira Butterfield, illus. by Sian Tucker, Animals and About Me. Readers point the finger at a question ("What is the biggest sea animal?") and release it to uncover the mystery ("Whales are the biggest sea animals"); in the second title, readers focus on their own behavior ("What do I use to go in and out?"; answer, "I have a door so I can go in and out"). (Big Fish [Sterling, dist.], $14.95 each 32p ages 3-6 ISBN 1-4027-0155-1; -0154-3; Feb.)

Dino-mite!

With textured plastic covers shaped like the face of the dinosaur featured, plus digitally enhanced photographs that make the dinos look real, Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus Rex by Don Lessem, illus. by Hall Train, will intrigue young fans of the prehistoric monsters. Inside, Lessem traces both creatures from birth to the time they're full-grown. (Candlewick, $8.99 each 18p ages 4-7 ISBN 0-7636-1459-9; 1458-0; Mar.)

Part of the Fast Forward series, which uses tabs on the right-hand border to allow readers to skip ahead or back in time, Dinosaur by Nicholas Harris, illus. by Peter David Scott, chronicles the life, death and enduring legacy of a Mamenchisaurus, from its beginnings in China, 160 million years ago to today, with its skeleton on display in a museum. Pyramid, illus. by Peter Dennis, tracks the architectural feat accomplished in Egypt from 2700 B.C. to 2480 B.C. and images of the pyramid still standing today. (Barron's, $14.95 each 32p ages 7-up ISBN 0-7641-5584-9; -5585-7; Feb.)

First in Flight

The Wright Brothers' historic flight at Kitty Hawk, N.C., on December 17, 1903, takes center stage in One Fine Day: A Radio Play by Elizabeth Van Steenwyk, illus. by Bill Farnsworth. The colloquial script makes it accessible for students to dramatize ("Orville: (Excited) How far did I go? How far? Tell me./ Wilbur: Don't know yet, till I figure it. But, oh, my, you flew right off, Orville. I think our pa's going to be mighty proud of you"). Farnsworth's oil on linen portraits strike just the right balance between realism and fancy; a slight smudging at the edges create the feeling of photographs taken with a soft-lens camera and convey the sense of a cream coming true. (Eerdmans, $16 32p all ages ISBN 0-8028-5234-3; Mar.)