THE MYSTERIOUS COLLECTION OF DR. DAVID HARLEYSON

In this volume sure to captivate storybook lovers, a collection of nursery characters' portraits provides clues to a puzzle. David Harleyson, a world-traveling pig who paints, has left home without explanation other than instructions to his brother and young nephew: "Inside my studio, find the twelve portraits I painted this last year.... When you put all twelve in the correct order, you'll know... where to find me." Readers must look at each painting, then turn the page to see what ephemera David has tucked into the frame. Behind a portrait of "M. Goose," shown scribbling with a quill pen, is her letter to David and an invitation to see a play by Sir Wolfe (who is the subject of the next portrait, clad in a gray suit and woolly white cape (souvenirs include a flyer for A Walk in the Woods , a newspaper clipping and a train ticket). The evidence reveals David's itinerary and friendships. He paints Itsy Bitsy Spider in Bremen ("Every day it has rained!") and meets the Owl and the Pussycat in Amsterdam ("You gave me your nose ring for my wedding day," Owl reminds him). Along the way, David falls for an opera star, Miss Lill Pigg, and coy allusions to the porcine diva imply his recent whereabouts. Readers will appreciate the keen visual detail of Cassels's (Lonesome George the Giant Tortoise ) upper-crusty gouaches, the wry inside jokes and the thoughtfulness of the familiar menagerie, as when Baa Baa (a black sheep) knits David a sweater and the Grasshopper fiddles at the climactic event. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)