cover image Where's Willy?

Where's Willy?

Martha Alexander. Candlewick Press (MA), $4.95 (14pp) ISBN 978-1-56402-161-8

This quartet of well-designed board books introduces a particularly likable sister and brother who star in mild but affectionately rendered vignettes. Where's Willy? , for example, shows the pair playing hide-and-seek, with baby Willy concealing himself inside a large paper bag, and, in Willy's Boot , Lily supervises the putting away of the toys, only to discover belatedly that the first item Willy has stashed is one of his boots. Soft, harmonious illustrations fill most of the spreads; Lily's words are allocated to the left page, Willy's to the right. Dialogue becomes more important in the other two books, which are also more whimsical-- Good Night, Lily finds the siblings in bed with their toys, Lily reading to Willy until both fall asleep and Lily's doll and Willy's bear take up the bedtime book. Understated and alluring. Ages 6 mos.-3 yrs. (Apr.)