Board Books Galore

New titles arrive in board book editions just right for small hands. Mommy Hugs and Daddy Kisses, by Anne Gutman and Georg Hallensleben (the team behind the Gaspard and Lisa books), demonstrate the affection between parents and their offspring with a variety of snuggling animals in simple, impressionistic paintings. In Hugs, "Mommy polar bear hugs her cub with a tickle"; in Kisses, "Daddy giraffe gives his calf a kiss on the neck," while "Daddy frog gives his froglet a kiss on the eyes." (Chronicle, $5.95 each 14p ages 1-4 ISBN 0-8118-3916-8;-3914-1; May)

In Laura Numeroff's What Daddies Do Best, an abridged version of the popular What Mommies Do Best/What Daddies Do Best, illus. by Lynn Munsinger, a hefty papa hippo helps junior ride a bicycle, a furry orange fox holds his son when the cub feels sad and more. Munsinger's whimsical illustrations are as endearing as ever in this reassuring read-aloud. (S&S/Little Simon, $6.99 22p ages 1-5 ISBN 0-689-85973-2; May)

Following her book America's Promise, Alma Powell pulls in with My Little Red Wagon/Mi Carrito in simultaneous English and Spanish editions, illus. by Marsha Winborn. A cheerful bear cub uses her red wagon for hauling things from toys to library books to baseball bats; in the end, Papa bear helps her pull a bag of trash in a neighborhood cleanup. All of the author's royalties will go to America's Promise: The Alliance for Youth, co-chaired by the author, consisting of 500 organizations dedicated to young people. (HarperFestival/Rayo, $6.99 each 18p ages 2-4 ISBN 0-06-052193-7; Mi carrito -053402-8; May)

Tomie de Paola brings back the Barker Twins in two bilingual concept books, Marcos Counts and Marcos Colors. In the first title, the youngest Barker learns to count from one to 10 from Moffie, who presents the numbers in English while Marco repeats them in Spanish. They count everything from three—tres—rubber ducks to eight—ocho—crayons, until Marcos leaves and returns with 10 red roses for Mama. In Colors, Moffie's twin brother, Morgie, presents the colors that Marcos repeats in Spanish. The art depicts appropriate objects such as a pumpkin and a tabby cat in orange, or naranja. (Putnam, $5.99 each 14p ages 1-3 ISBN 0-399-24011-X; -24010-1; May)

Nina Laden follows her popular Peek-a-WHO? and Ready, Set, GO! with Grow Up! The text asks readers to guess what a variety of young animals will grow up to be, and die-cut holes hint at the transition from, for example, kitten to cat, or chick to chicken. The last set of illustrations depicts a baby in a crib asleep under a die-cut circular silver moon that becomes a mirror on the final page as "Baby grows up to be ME!" (Chronicle, $6.95 26p ages 1-3 ISBN 0-8118-3761-0; May)

Ellen Jareckie's House-Mouse Tales presents two new titles: A Mouse in the House and A House-Mouse Party. The first reveals all the small signs that one may have some unexpected visitors, from crackers stuffed into a piggy bank to a donut rolling downhill (with a little rodent riding in the hole). In the second, these frolicsome creatures whip up a grand to-do complete with balloons, bands and tasty bon-bons. The pastel-hued watercolor-and-ink illustrations appear against an elegant cream background. (Little, Brown/ Tingley, $6.99 each 22p ages 6 mos.-3 yrs. ISBN 0-316-45136-3; -45150-9; May)

In the Once Upon a Time series, a trio of classic tales present heroic threesomes in titles adapted by Raina Moore and illustrated by Thea Kliros: Three Billy Goats Gruff; Three Little Pigs; and The Three Bears. The three goats outwit the ugly old troll, the three pigs send the wolf howling and the three bears frighten away Goldilocks (though in this version, they ask her to come back and play) in pale pastel watercolors. (HarperFestival, $5.99 each 20p ages 3-6 ISBN 0-06-008237-2; -008236-4; -008238-0; May)

A quartet of Baby Dazzlers by Helen Stephens feature die-cut sparkly images, from the shimmery moon and silver stars in Twinkly Night, to the shiny blue snail shell and golden flower petals in the Glittery Garden, to a shiny red kite in Sparkly Day and a silver shovel and lustrous goldfish in Shiny Seaside. Rhyming texts focus on objects that are die-cut to reveal the sheen beneath. (Little, Brown, $5.99 each 22p ages 6 mos.-3 yrs. ISBN 0-316-81096-7; -81401-6;-81228-5; -81160-2; May)

Creative Concepts

Learning is elementary with this collection of concept books. Lynn Reiser uses Ten Puppies to count to 10 in multiple ways. After a shaggy brown dog, whose tag reads "MOM," adopts 10 puppies from a shelter, she groups them by different characteristics, such as "Nine had pink tongues. One had a blue tongue," always adding up to 10. The motley medley of mutts appears in panels on backgrounds of solid colors. (HarperCollins/ Greenwillow, $15.99 40p ages 4-up ISBN 0-06-008644-0; Apr.)

The Animal ABC by Leslie Baker pairs each letter of the alphabet with a familiar—or not so familiar—animal. "E" is of course for "Elephant," on a double-page spread due his enormous size; "U" is an "Uakari," which may send some parents to the dictionary. Solid pastel backgrounds contain each watercolor portrait, framed in a border, and each letter appears in upper and lower case. (Holt, $15.95 40p ages 1-4 ISBN 0-8050-6746-9; May)

Patricia Polacco celebrates goats and their antics in G Is for Goat. In a rhyming text, the artist's signature babushka-clad girls cope with nannies and kids: "P is for Push,/ when goats just won't go./ Q is for Quit,/ when goats just say no." The pencil-and-watercolor illustrations depict a busy barnyard indeed. (Philomel, $16.99 32p ages 3-6 ISBN 0-399-24018-7; May)

In an oversize board book format, Animal Action ABC by Karen Pandell pairs photos of active wild animals, by Arte Wolfe, with photos of children imitating the animals' movements, by Nancy Sheehan. "Kick like a kangaroo," for example, places two kicking children next to a larger photo of similarly engaged kangaroos. The rhyming text explains a bit more about each animal's behavior. (Handprint, $9.95 18p ages 3-6 ISBN 1-929766-92-0; June)

Several Soft Shapes titles illustrated by Bob Filipowich encourage youngsters to learn about basic concepts and their surroundings with foam-core pages and puzzle-like pieces that pop out. "Who landed on the red flower?" asks the left-hand side of the opening spread in Bugs in the Garden. Both the flower and the black-spotted red bug in its middle pop out of the green page to reveal the answer ("A ladybug!"). For Where Is My Baby? various mothers go in search of their offspring: a "striped mother zebra" finds hers hidden in a field of stripes; it pops out to uncover the reply ("Here I am!"). My Lunch Box, with a handle, enumerates its contents in rhyme, from "1 thermos" ("When lunchtime comes,/ I want soup to slurp up./ What keeps it hot,/ with a lid that's a cup?") to "4 strawberries." (Innovative Kids, $7.99 each 8p ages 1-4 ISBN 1-58476-171-7; -172-5; Lunch Box $9.99 -173-3; May)

Slightly older readers can fish for an array of concepts, from colors to opposites to pond life facts, with Let's Fish! by Leslie Bockol, illus. by Shirley Beckes. Rhyming couplets encourage youngsters to pull out the magnetic fishing rod and various creatures stashed in a handy drawer (tucked into the front cover) and fit the frog, turtle, crab and more into the spaces indicated on each sturdy corrugated spread. (Innovative Kids, $14.99 10p ages 3-6 -164-4; May)

In a similar vein, My First Shape Sorter Book by Lee Vietro, illus. by Farah Aria, prompts youngsters to "put the dirty clothes in the wash," toys in the toy chest and more. The left-hand side models what should go where (e.g., "The ball is a circle" corresponds with the circular transparent opening in the toy chest), and the pieces slide through a column that opens at the bottom of the page, to the proper spot. When play is done, the pieces may be stored in a handy drawer, visible at the bottom of each die-cut page. (Innovative Kids, $14.99 10p ages 18 mos.-3 yrs. -170-9; May)

Bug fans will welcome Measure Up! A Bug Contest by Frank Wilson, illus. by Mircea Catusanu, which encourages competitions such as "The Wall Crawl" and "The Deep Dive." Budding entomologists not only get to root for their favorites, but can then measure the bugs' progress with a handy tape measure that travels along a track on the outer border of this oversize board book. Additional measuring activities are enclosed in the front cover, which doubles as a storage box. (Innovative Kids, $14.99 12p ages 5-8 -166-0; May)

Nursery Nuggets

Passing along traditional rhymes to a new generation of children is the focus of ¡Pio Peep! Traditional Spanish Nursery Rhymes, selected by Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy, English adaptations by Alice Schertle, illus. by Viví Escrivá. The 29 rhymes selected here celebrate childhood, from rising with the sun to playing pat-a-cake and other games to a last look at a sleepy mouse: "A sleepy mouse/ began to snore./ This tale is told—/ there is no more." The Spanish rhyme and its English counterpart appear side by side, and bilingual readers may sometimes wonder at the choices made in the English versions, which are not translations but "poetic re-creations." The softly rounded, glowing watercolors depict children mostly in modern dress amid lush natural landscapes. (HarperCollins/Rayo, $14.99 64p ages 1-6 ISBN 0-688-16019-9; Apr.)

Oh, Baby! A Celebration of Babies by Leo Landry, looks at little ones in a variety of quirky contexts. Small watercolor vignettes accompanied by short texts depict, for example, under the heading "Nature Babies," a baby riding on a leaf with the words "Leaf baby blows in the wind." Occasionally longer traditional rhymes are used; in "Baby Works," an illustration of a baby riding a train engine is paired with the opening lines of "I've been working on the railroad." (Little, Brown/Tingley, $12.95 24p ages 1-3 ISBN 0-316-60732-0; Apr.)

Little Bear's Timeless Tales, adapted by Rita Balducci, illus. by Amy Flynn, presents three classic stories in a large paper-over-board format with sturdy corrugated pages. Ursine heroes and heroines star in short versions of "Jack and the Beanstalk," "Simple Simon" and "The Princess and the Pea," with softly mottled illustrations. (Reader's Digest, $8.99 10p ages 2-4 ISBN 0-7944-0215-1; July)