Happy Reunions

Readers will welcome back old favorites in several titles this fall. Omnibeasts collects Douglas Florian's witty rhymes, riddles and artwork from among several standby compendiums, including mammalabilia; bow wow meow meow and insectlopedia. PW said of his previous collections, "Florian depicts the subjects in quirkily apt illustrations... even the typography plays a part in the humor." (Harcourt, $18 96p all ages ISBN 0-15-205038-8; Oct.)

The Complete Adventures of the Mole Sisters by Roslyn Schwartz gathers all 10 of the fuzzy underground siblings' adventures in a paper-over-board horizontal format. PW said of their debut title, The Mole Sisters and the Piece of Moss (included here), "Schwartz strikes just the right note of preschool humor with the resourceful and relentlessly optimistic mole sisters—who never make a mountain out of a molehill." (Annick [Firefly, dist.], $19.95 168p ages 2-4 ISBN 1-55037-883-X; Nov.)

After taking Tinseltown by storm in Sock Monkey Goes to Hollywood: A Star Is Bathed, the tweedy star now seeks a dance partner for the Big Celebrity Dance in Sock Monkey Boogie-Woogie: A Friend Is Made by Cece Bell. After the auditions he holds go bust, the hero literally makes his own dancing buddy. (Candlewick, $14.99 32p ages 4-up ISBN 0-7636-2392-X; Nov.)

Youngest book lovers will clamor for A Box of Treats: Five Little Picture Books About Lilly and Her Friends by Kevin Henkes. This sweet handful of board books will be quickly devoured, time after time: Lilly's Chocolate Heart; Owen's Marshmallow Chick; Wemberly's Ice-Cream Star; Julius's Candy Corn; and Sheila Rae's Peppermint Stick. (HarperCollins/Festival, $14.99 ages 2-up ISBN 0-06-073211-3; Nov.)

Babar for Babies

On the theory that no child is ever too young for Babar, the character created by Jean de Brunhoff and carried on by his son, Laurent de Brunhoff, debuts in My First Book: A Babar Baby Journal, with two pockets for keepsakes, a family tree, and plenty of prompts for filling in pleasingly designed square pages. Polka dots, soft pastel colors and the peppy pachyderm himself decorate the interiors of this paper-over-board volume. (Abrams, $19.95 110p ISBN 0-8109-4934-2; Nov.)

And, appearing in a pair of board books for the first time, the dapper hero stars in Babar Family Time and Babar Bedtime. Youngsters can celebrate a picnic and wind down to sleep with Babar and his clan. (Abrams, $5.95 each 12p ages 6 mos.-3 yrs. ISBN 0-8109-5037-5; 0-8109-5038-3; Nov.)

Teen Activities

High schoolers and college students can learn to stitch together hats, sweaters, blankets and more with Teen Knitting Club: Chill Out and Knit by Jennifer Wenger, Carol Abrams and Maureen Lasher. This comprehensive covered spiralbound guide takes teens through the fundamentals—tools, basic stitches, yarn selection and more—before providing clear directions and diagrams for 35 projects plus tips for starting a knitting club. (Workman/Artisan, $17.95 144p ages 12-up ISBN 1-57965-244-1; Oct.)

Teens can go natural or glam with the help of Teen Makeup: Looks to Match Your Every Mood by Linda Mason. With 28 girls acting as models, Mason offers important skin care tips as well as makeup ideas and combinations that stretch from "classic" and "sporty" to "way-out-rageous." Rough sketches give an overview of the elements of each style and photos show the before and after makeover results. Makeup schemes based on zodiac signs add a hip finale. (Watson-Guptill, $16.95 paper 144p ISBN 0-8230-2980-8; Oct.)

Buddies can tackle nearly 200 projects with Best Friends Forever! 199 Projects to Make and Share by Laura Torres. From photo album and frame ideas ("Say Cheese!") to "cool" note-writing ("Pass It On!") to gift-making ideas and classic friendship bracelets, activities abound, with easy step-by-step instructions and zippy photographs of the girls and their finished objets d'art. (Workman, $13.95 paper 192p ages 12-up ISBN 0-7611-3274-0; Oct.)

From the "Alphabet" (and language itself) to "Zero" (and the numerical system), The A to Z of Everyday Things by Janice Weaver, illus. by Francis Blake, offers insight into the quotidian staples society takes for granted. Luxury items such as "Lipstick," which dates back to 3000 B.C. ("No discussion of kissing would be complete [without it]"), sits alongside necessities like "Money" (the author provocatively asserts, "We are close to living in what is called a cashless society"). The chatty tone and humorous line drawings will carry readers through all 26 entries. (Tundra, $8.95 paper 124p ages 10-up ISBN 0-8876-671-4; Nov.)

On the Humanities

Future art majors can rejoice in a pair of new titles. Cave Paintings to Picasso: The Inside Scoop on 50 Masterpieces by Henry Sayre chronicles major artistic achievements from prehistory to modernity. A running timeline marks the edges of each spread, which begins with the Woman from Brassempouy, "the earliest known representation of a human face," carved from the tusk of a wooly mammoth (c. 22,000 B.C.), and continues through such works as Andy Warhol's Campbell Soup Can paintings and René Magritte's The Son of Man (1964). Crisp photos reproduce the artwork alongside accessible commentary. (Chronicle, $22.95 94p ages 8-up ISBN 0-8118-3767-X; Oct.)

James Cross Giblin (The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone) transports readers to Egypt once again for Secrets of the Sphinx, illus. by Bagram Ibatoulline. The author delves into the debates over when the Sphinx was built, the lives of the early Egyptians and how best to preserve the monument for future generations. Gouache and watercolor paintings sweep across the spreads, portraying a muted, majestic landscape of the past and present, and at other times decorating the spreads with hieroglyphs. (Scholastic, $17.95 48p ages 9-12 ISBN 0-590-09847-0; Oct.)