It's for You

Part Graeme Base, part Batman's Riddler, this book should carry a warning label for the puzzle-impaired. Talbot's intriguing (at times confounding), visually arresting picture book runs the risk of losing all but serious puzzlers. The adventure begins with the arrival of a mysterious package, which contains a strange box. Each turn of the page reveals an array of riddles, clues, math problems, mazes-even mini-board games-which readers must solve in order to discover the box's contents. An abundance of red herrings further complicates the quest. The intricately detailed, often surrealistic artwork appears to be the product of a fevered imagination-dragon-infested waters surround a mile-high labyrinth, endless sets of staircases lead off in all directions. Provocative, but not for the easily frustrated. Ages 9-up. (June)