Letters And Numbers Add To The Fun

READING BY NINE

August 11, 2002|By Reviewed By Nicholas A. Basbanes, Special to the Sentinel

With high-flying bears and frolicking frogs contributing to the fun, it still feels very much like summer. But with offshore breezes beginning to stir, the murmur of change is in the air, and it's time once again to think about our ABC's, our 123's, with a smattering of geography and some recent American history thrown in for good measure.

LONG NECK, KEEN EYE

Carlo Likes Counting, by Jessica Spanyol (Candlewick Press, $14.99, 28 pages): Fans of last year's smash hit Carlo Likes Reading will be delighted to learn that with her latest release, Jessica Spanyol has picked up right where she left off.

This time around, her spotted giraffe Carlo uses the unique vantage point his long neck affords him to keep a keen eye on his surroundings, never wasting an opportunity to work on his counting skills. He can be at home or enjoying a day at the park, he can be browsing around the toy store or just looking around the neighborhood. Wherever he may be, there are always opportunities to make meaningful connections, and to go from one to 10.

The vivid colors and clearly drawn items encourage young readers to scan the pages and to join the fun-loving critter in his productive meanderings. (Ages 4-7).

WHAT A CIRCUS

Miss Bindergarten Plans a Circus with Kindergarten, by Joseph Slate, illustrations by Ashley Wolff (Dutton, $16.99, 40 pages): Miss Bindergarten's list of things to do is long, but excitement is high, and all the kindergartners are chipping in to prepare for an exciting circus to be staged in their classroom.

Posters are painted, tickets are numbered, balloons are inflated, acts are practiced, pants are hemmed, sweet treats are assembled, costumes are completed. A few missteps occur, of course, but nothing that can't be easily fixed. And the grand finale -- a masked juggler riding a unicycle while twirling hoops and balancing teacups upon a very familiar looking nose -- is the piece de resistance.

This triumph is followed by a helpful student roster identifying each letter in bold ink -- from Adam Alligator to Zach Zebra. (Ages 4-8).

TASTY TREAT

Eight Animals Bake a Cake, by Susan Middleton Elya, illustrations by Lee Chapman (Putnam, $15.99, 32 pages): Each of Susan Middleton Elya's proven team of eight storybook characters -- make that ocho animales -- provides an essential ingredient for the baking of a festive cake in this delightful primer set in rhyming verses, with Spanish equivalents to 33 words offered in the margins.

Mouse (Raton) brings the sugar (azucar); Cat (Gato) provides the butter (mantequilla); Dog (Perro) chips in with an egg (huevo), and so on down the line, with Frog, Bird, Horse, Cow and Pig supplying flour, vanilla, cherries, pecans and pineapple.

As the adventure proceeds, several Spanish words are substituted for their English counterparts, with a glossary available for consultation. After a few gaffes -- inevitable with a Pineapple Upside-Down Cake -- the luscious confection emerges from the oven. (A recipe is included.)

Lee Chapman's busy images are guaranteed to hold every reader's attention. (Ages 4-8).

ROLLICKING FROLIC

Big Bear Ball, by Joanne Ryder, illustrations by Steven Kellogg (Harper Collins, $15.95, 26 pages): The scene is set deep in a magical forest for a big bear ball. The bushes are full of berries, and the instruments are all tuned, the musicians primed and ready to play.

Now all they need are guests, and before long, a flotilla of bears comes soaring across the sky, arriving in multicolored hot air balloons. Decked out in their finest duds, this fun-loving bunch means to have a good time, and nobody will go home disappointed.

Joanne Ryder demonstrates a passion for word play in this rollicking frolic, with one foot-stomping rhyme after another. "Now thump those stumps and wake the moles. Let's rouse the foxes from their holes."

Steven Kellogg's illustrations are up to his high standards -- exuberant, imaginative and full of good humor. (Ages 3-6).

MAY YOU DANCE

Down By the Cool of the Pool, by Tony Mitton, illustrations by Guy Parker-Rees (Orchard Books, $15.95, 28 pages): To say that the creatures in this lively romp like to dance is an understatement. There's stamping, wiggling, flapping, bounding, skipping and hopping, to name just a few of the twinkle-toed maneuvers executed with great gusto, all down by the cool of the pool.

Tony Mitton's zany, musical text is spare, just enough rhythm, really, to accompany the dazzling illustrations of Guy Parker-Rees.

"And they splished and splashed till their dance was done," Mitton writes. "Then away they drifted and down went the sun." (Ages 2-5).

GLOBAL TREK

Lost Little Elephant, by Alison Morris, illustrations by Olivia Rayner (Sterling, $12.95, 44 pages): When Little Elephant is invited by his cousin Aziz in India to attend a big carnival outside of Delhi, the response is clear.

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