ALBERT

An infinity symbol appears on Yamamoto's frontispiece—a tip-off that some big ideas are afoot in this austere, small-format book. As endless dots of raindrops fall ("It was raining again...," begins the text), Albert gives his imagination an impressive workout. He pretends to be a latter-day Noah ("Albert had already saved all the animals from the flood"), lining up his stuffed animals on the couch; then he dons goggles, peers into the fish tank and goes "swimming with the sharks." But eventually, "There was nothing left to do"—although Yamamoto's wry, doodle-like ink drawings wink at readers by showing Albert in an enviably well-stocked room. With the rain "getting heavier and falling louder," Albert begins to muse on the metaphysical: He knows that everything has its place (he's in the house, the house is on his street, and so on), but "What is the universe in?" His imagination refueled by this age-old conundrum, Albert builds a rocket ship from a cardboard box and, in a wordless spread, boldly goes where no kid has gone before, out among the stars. Striking a mood both playful and cerebral, Yamamoto may even inspire kids to do some space-time continuum musing of their own. After all, even Einstein started out small. Ages 3-up. (Oct.)