WHO WILL GO TO SCHOOL TODAY?

Young Sam's answer to the title question is an emphatic "Not me" and he plots to send his stuffed monkey, Timbo, in his place. It won't be an easy ruse to pull off: "Oh, but your ears are much too big. And so are your feet. Mother will guess right away," the boy says. But the more pointers Sam gives Timbo on fitting in at school (how to choose from all the terrific activities, what to do at circle time, the pleasures of eating a snack, etc.) and the more Sam realizes just how humdrum life as a left-behind toy can be, the better school sounds. Rühmann captures the eagerness and self-satisfied excitement of Sam's scheming, as well as the humor of his necessarily one-sided conversations with Timbo: " 'What do you eat for your snack?' Sam asked his friend. 'What? Nothing?' Sam sighed." But the somber palette of Monnier's full-bleed acrylic spreads, while elegantly composed and populated with happy children, give off a strangely muted energy. Her scenes between boy and toy are more convincing than the allegedly attractive school setting. Ages 3-6. (Mar.)