Spring Fling

Plants and blossoms abound in a garden of earthly titles. A board book edition of Eric Carle's The Tiny Seed is just right for youngest nature lovers and aspiring gardeners. PW said of the original 1970 publication, "Here we have not just the explanation of the life of a flower, but drama, lessons of life and a lovely spirituality. The pages, like the seed pods, burst with color." (Little Simon, $7.99 34p ages 2-5 ISBN 0-689-87149-X; Feb.)

In a starred review of Little Green by Keith Baker, published in 2001 and newly available in a board book edition, PW wrote, "The collages glow with a lovely translucence that captures the feel of a sunlit garden and the evanescence of the [titular] hummingbird's mesmerizing movements." (Harcourt/Red Wagon, $6.95 30p ages 6 mos.-3 yrs. ISBN 0-15-205308-5; Mar.)

Foil petals on a flower-shaped die-cut board book diminish in number as readers flip the pages of Spring Fever! by Salina Yoon, which showcases animated, airbrushed-looking images of bees, butterflies, birds and all things spring. (Little Simon, $6.99 12p ages 1-4 ISBN 0-689-87424-3; Mar.)

Those who wish to get their hands in the soil will appreciate Zinnia's Flower Garden by Monica Wellington. Collage artwork that incorporates seed packages, patterned clothing and actual photos of plants alongside exuberant fine-line and saturated color portraits of the heroine and her pooch show the stages of a seed's growth and model good gardening habits. (Dutton, $14.99 32p ages 3-up ISBN 0-525-47368-8; Feb.)

Miss Lady Bird's Wildflowers: How a First Lady Changed America by Kathi Appelt, illus. by Joy Fisher Hein, tells how the seeds of Lady Bird's love of the outdoors were planted in her childhood. Appelt credits the First Lady with the passing of the Highway Beautification Act, the planting of more of the capital's famous cherry trees, and the establishment of the National Wildflower Research Center. Hein's paintings show off the flowers to beautiful effect. (HarperCollins, $16.99 40p ages 7-10 ISBN 0-06-001107-6; Mar.)

True Companions

Favorite characters (and even produce!) make a comeback this spring. Food for Thought: The Complete Book of Concepts for Growing Minds by Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers, the team behind How Are You Peeling? uses their signature vegetable and fruit "faces" to explore shapes, colors, numbers, letters and opposites, showcased in a paper-over-board gallery of spectacular photographs. (Scholastic/Levine, $14.95 64p ages 6 mos.-3 yrs. ISBN 0-439-11018-1; Feb.)

PW said of Bringing Down the Moon, the book that first introduced winsome Mole, "In Emmett's unadorned, gentle prose, Mole seems enchanted by the moon's ethereal beauty." In No Place Like Home by Jonathan Emmett, illus. by Vanessa Cabban, the fellow wakes up dissatisfied with his burrow, wishing to live "somewhere big and bright and beautiful instead!"—until his search for the perfect home brings him right back where he started. (Candlewick, $15.99 32p ages 3-6 ISBN 0-7636-2554-X; Apr.)

The team behind Rumble in the Jungle now tackles the Jurassic Park crowd in Dinosaurs Galore! by Giles Andreae, illus. by David Wojtowycz. Beginning with Tyrannosaurus rex and winding up with Giganotosaurus, the prehistoric parade of psychedelic-hued lizards accentuate their best known features in the illustrations and accompanying quatrains. (Tiger Tales, $16.95 32p ages 3-7 ISBN 1-58925-044-3; Mar.)

Author David Martin and artist Randy Cecil invite children to see what they have in common with the animal kingdom in We've All Got Bellybuttons! Elephants' ears, monkeys' hands and giraffes' necks number among the attributes that human children share, and buttons appear on the bellies of all the furry and four-legged characters here—just begging to be tickled. (Candlewick, $15.99 32p ages 3-6 ISBN 0-7636-1775-X; Feb.)

In a riff on the popular school bus ditty, The Wheels on the Race Car by Alexander Zane, illus. by James Warhola, heads to the track. Animal equivalents of Mario Andretti line up their vehicles in the opening spread ("Racers... Start your engines!!!") before demonstrating how they "go round and round/ .../ All around the track" with appropriate sound effects (e.g., "vroom-vroom-vroom," "zizz-zizz-zizz," etc.). A "glug-glug-glug" signals the need for a pit stop. (Scholastic/Orchard, $14.95 32p ages 4-8 ISBN 0-439-59080-9; Mar.)

The author-artist who debuted with Henny-Penny (PW wrote, in a starred review of it, "This fine, feathered picture book rocks!") returns with Never Cry Woof! by Jane Wattenberg, a retelling of Aesop's The Boy Who Cried Wolf. With the same high-voltage collage elements she used in her previous tale, Wattenberg depicts Bix, a pointer, who gets so hot guarding the sheep that he just can't help "let[ting] loose an electrifying, spine-tingling, hair-punking, 'Woooooof!' " not just once, but three times. When a wolf actually does threaten Bix and his herd, no one believes him. (Scholastic, $16.95 40p ages 4-8 ISBN 0-439-21675-3; Mar.)

A pair of paper-over-board books by Laurent de Brunhoff, published in the 1980s and starring the elephant first created by his father, Jean de Brunhoff, reemerge in a preschool-friendly format. Babar's Busy Year begins as the elephant family strolls through the autumn-tainted forest, and winds up with a summer swim in Celesteville. When the hero makes magic, it takes on a life all its own in Babar the Magician. (Abrams, $9.95 each 24p ages 3-6 ISBN 0-8109-5864-3; 0-8109-5863-5; Mar.)