IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY…

Fans of the original movies (Episodes IV—VI) and its prequels (Episodes I—III) can enhance their collection with two new oversize volumes illustrated with movie stills and photographs: Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide by Ryder Windham and Star Wars: The Complete Locations by Kristin Lund et al., illus. by Richard Chasemore and Hans Jenssen. The first is a visual timeline of the galaxy's evolution over the course of the six films. Comic graphics and photo spreads illustrate the narrative, which covers the history of the Old Republic and the Great Sith War as well as other major events in the six-episode epic. The second title provides an extensive look at all six films' scenery, including a cutaway view of the Galactic Senate (Episode I), a military mapping of the Battle of Geonosis (Episode II), photos and maps of the Mustafar mines (Episode III), a detailed interior view of the Death Star and Jabba's Palace, and much more. (DK, $24.99 144p all ages ISBN 0-7566-1420-1; Locations $39.99 176p ISBN 0-7566-1419-8; Nov.)

TRUE COMPANIONS

Several favorite characters and series continue this fall. Sleep Tight, Little Bear by Martin Waddell, illus. by Barbara Firth, bring back the duo first introduced in Can't You Sleep, Little Bear? Here Little Bear discovers a new cave, "little-bear-size or just a bit bigger," and asks Big Bear if he can stay in his new hideaway. But they both discover how much they miss each other. A DVD is included. (Candlewick, $15.99 32p ages 3-6 ISBN 0-7636-2439-X; Nov.)

The third book in the Paper Princess series by Elisa Kleven finds the heroine and her pooch in search of a gift for their owner in The Paper Princess Flies Again (With Her Dog). In their travels, they adapt a paper flag as a magic carpet, hitch a ride on a kite, and undergo more adventures against the fiesta-bright Mexico backdrop. (Tricycle, $15.95 32p ages 4-7 ISBN 1-58246-146-5; Oct.)

The lovable ice bird returns to compete in Tacky and the Winter Games by Helen Lester, illus. by Lynn Munsinger. Penguins from the Highlands, Lowlands and Funlands take on Team Nice Icy Land (with Tacky as its resourceful team member) to compete for the "Big Winner!" medal. Tacky's unusual tactics may not always fly in bobsledless racing or downhill skiing, but his appetite for fun lands the Nice Ice Land's team in first place. (Houghton/Lorraine, $16 32p ages 4-6 ISBN 0-618-55659-1; Oct.)

The furry star of Sometimes I Like to Curl Up in a Ball by Charles Fuge makes a new friend who teaches him a thing or two in Swim, Little Wombat, Swim! The strange fellow with the "funny, fuzzy face"— Platypus—has a few tricks to show Wombat, one of which winds up saving Wombat's life. (Sterling, $12.95 24p ages 2-5 ISBN 1-4027-2375-X; Oct.)

The spunky gal first introduced in Marsupial Sue here presents a retelling of the tale of the Runaway Pancake as a neighborhood play, Marsupial Sue Presents "The Runaway Pancake": Book and CD by John Lithgow, illus. by Jack Davis. What starts out onstage, however, quickly bursts onto spreads of Davis's quirky landscapes, filled with an offbeat cast (the Fox sports a jester-like cast, a koala uses socks to look the part of a canine, etc.), all in pursuit of one rolly-polly, boisterous pancake. (S&S, $17.95 40p ages 4-8 ISBN 0-689-87847-8; Oct.)

Several favorite characters and series entries teach the basics. The paper-over board Curious George's Big Book of Curiosity, illus. in the style of H.A. Rey by Greg Paprocki, covers everything from body parts and emotions to the neighborhood and homes of all kinds ("birdhouse" and "pueblo"). Later in the book, readers learn numbers, shapes, ABCs and seasons through the eyes of this "good little monkey." (Houghton, $11.99 48p ages 6 mos.-3 yrs. ISBN 0-618-58338-6; Oct.)

Fans of the oversize Zoology illustrated by Joëlle Jolivet will also welcome the gigantic 12" x 17¾" Almost Everything by Laura Jaffé, illus. by Jolivet, trans. by Alexis Siegel, that contains... well, almost everything. From cars, costumes, body parts and instruments to fruits and vegetables, and much more, readers will be hard pressed to find something this book does not cover, as they literally climb on top of the spreads to identify their favorites. (Roaring Brook, $19.95 32p ages 4-8 ISBN 1-59643-090-7; Oct.)

From the creators of Spicy Hot Colors (which PW called a "zingy color primer") comes Cool Cats Counting by Sherry Shahan, illus. by Paula Barragán. Readers learn a bit of Spanish as they count up from "one goat/ hotsy solo/ twanger-toes./ Go, man, go!/Una chiva" to two dogs hip-hopping ("dos perros ") up to 10 "hep cats/ cuttin' a rug./ Jitterbug!" ("diez gatos"). Each wildly drawn and dressed animal seems to move with the rhythm as it shakes a tail to its own tune. (August House/Little Folk, $16.95 24p ages 4-7 ISBN 0-87483-757-x; Oct.)

In a zany yet thought-provoking follow-up to If You Hopped Like a Frog, the collaborators present colorful hypotheses intended to spark kids' curiosity about relative size: If Dogs Were Dinosaurs by David M. Schwartz, illus. by James Warhola. "If your dog were as big as a dinosaur... his dinner would fill up your living room." This and subsequent statements lend themselves to hyperbolic art, which Warhola delivers with gusto. Added together, graphics and text provide readers with ample opportunity to laugh and learn. (Scholastic, $16.99 32p ages 7-10 ISBN 0-439-67612-6; Oct.) Following 1 2 3: A Counting Book ("a first counting book that also celebrates modern art," according to PW), illus. by Tom Slaughter, comes the paper-over-board ABC x 3: English Español Français by Marthe Jocelyn (who previously teamed with Slaughter on One Some Many). In bold colors against backgrounds that make the images vibrate, readers can learn the alphabet (in upper and lower case) plus a word in three languages (e.g., "lamp / lámpara/ lampe"). A bright yellow mask with glowing red eyes peers out from the black page for Jj ("jaguar," the same in all three languages). (Tundra, $12.95 32p ages 2-5 ISBN 0-88776-664-1; Oct.)