OH THE PLACE YOU'LL GO!

For armchair travelers and ticketholders, a round-up of titles explores destinations near and far. 101 Places You Gotta See Before You're 12! by Joanne O'Sullivan leads readers on a tour of some hot spots worth trekking to, beginning with a lighthouse (she suggests destinations on the East and West coasts), an animal rescue center, and places closer to home, such as a cemetery. Closing pages of Web sites offer many suggestions within each category, and stickers allow adventurers to earmark future destinations. (Lark [Sterling, dist.], $9.95 paper 144p ages 6-12 ISBN 978-1-57990-865-2; Feb.)

For those who wish to go farther afield, a quartet of titles launches the paper-over-board, spiral-bound Find Out About series, illus. by Tim Hutchinson: France and Spain by Duncan Crosbie, Italy by Patricia Borlenghi, and China by Zheng Qing. Each offers a primer on how to say the words in that language (e.g., "J in French is said like a soft z, or rather zh"); a brief tour of the country (such as the Forbidden City in China); a sense of kids' everyday lives, and the history and culture. (Barron's, $12.99 each 64p ages 8-up ISBN 978-0-7641-5953-4; Spain 978-0-7641-5955-8; Italy 978-0-7641-5954-2; China 978-0-7641-5952-6; Feb.)

Two titles kick off an oversize paper-over-board series starring twins with wanderlust: Alex and Penny Ballooning Over Italy and Alex and Penny in Egypt. Both books begin with an ad for individuals drawn to "risks and danger," and these siblings foot the bill. As they set out to prove to the mysterious "Agency" their acumen and craftiness," they lead readers on a tour of each country's top spots—St. Mark's Square in Venice and Rome's Colosseum in Italy; the Sphinx and Tutankhamen's tomb in Egypt. Crisp photos bring the sites to life, while b&w drawings prompt kids to color in diagrams and play word games tied to the informative text. (White Star [Rizzoli, dist.], $14.95 each 80p ages 7-10 ISBN 88-544-0160-9; 88-544-0159-5; Feb.)

TRUE COMPANIONS

Spring titles and themes come to the fore, starring favorite characters. It's the first day of the Giants' season, and Froggy's dad is the coach in Froggy Plays T-Ball by Jonathan London, illus. by Frank Remkiewicz. The author has a ball with puns on flies (Froggy eats them rather than catching them) and running for home after he hits a ball out of the park. (Viking, $15.99 32p ages 2-up ISBN 978-0-670-06187-7; Feb.)

The squishy toy hero from Adventures of Cow once again appears in farfetched photos against familiar backdrops in Adventures of Cow, Too, by Lori Korchek, photos by Marshall Taylor. The paper-over-board volume depicts the black-and-white bovine perched on the handle of a shopping cart, nestling among pineapple tops and, in a sly commentary, pressed up against the photo's edge with two cow-faced milk cartons behind him. (Tricycle, $12.95 32p ages 3-6 ISBN 978-1-58246-139-7; Mar.)

First introduced in Scaredy Squirrel ("Youngsters will go nuts over this one," wrote PW), the fearful furry hero would "rather be alone than risk encountering someone dangerous"—until, quite by accident, Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend, written by Mélanie Watt. He sets out to befriend a benign goldfish and bumps into a menacing-seeming but actually quite harmless pooch. Fans will hope for much more from this endearing fellow. (Kids Can, $14.95 32p ages 4-8 ISBN 978-1-55453-181-3; Mar.)

Irene Kelly turns from hummingbirds (It's a Hummingbird's Life) to butterflies in It's a Butterfly's Life, with a text that once again seems to float across the pages and a generous smattering of illustrations, giving the volume a notebook feel. Curving lines in the spreads' corners highlight a particular kind of butterfly or butterfly behavior: for instance, "When not in use, the proboscis is curled up like a garden hose." (Holiday, $16.95 32p ages 4-8 ISBN 978-0-8234-1860-2; Apr.)

"Kittens black and kittens white,/ Kittens spotted, kittens striped" leap from the pages of Kittens! Kittens! Kittens! by Susan Meyers, illus. by David Walker, with all the exuberance of their earlier effort, Puppies! Puppies! Puppies! Author and artist have clearly observed these wee felines, as they capture their every movement in words and pictures. (Abrams, $15.95 32p ages 3-6 ISBN 978-0-8109-1218-2; Feb.)

Those who enjoyed the first quartet of paper-over-board books about the star from the This Is Daniel Cook series will welcome two more: This Is Daniel Cook Making Honey and This Is Daniel Cook at the Construction Site by Yvette Ghione, illus. by Céleste Gagnon. Stills from the television show lead readers on a tour of an apiary and construction site, and the book offers activities that go along with the topics, and fun asides from the red-headed hero. (Kids Can, $12.95 24p ages 4-6 ISBN 978-1-55453-085-4; 978-1-55453-083-0; $4.95 each paper Honey ISBN 978-1-55453-086-1; Construction Site 978-1-55453-084-7; Mar.)

ALL ABOARD!

Chicks and ducks and geese pop from the board book pages of a handful of titles. Coco, Sloan Tanen's popular 3-D chick photographed by Stefan Hagen, returns for a pair of original concept board books: Coco Counts and C Is for Coco. The fluffy starlet cocks her bowed head for "If 1 chick is good," then rises on a seesaw for the next spread, "are 2 chicks much better?" A fun twist finds 100 chicks packed onto a final spread—only Coco's bow and another chick in shades stand out. Kids will love learning about Coco, A to Z, and get a kick out of the resemblance between Coco and her grandma. (Bloomsbury, $6.95 each 24p ages 6 mos.-3 yrs. ISBN 978-1-59990-072-8; 978-1-59990-071-1; Mar.)

In a giant board book (with a padded cover) featuring a pop-up feathered belly and beak, Charlie Chick by Nick Denchfield and Ant Parker demonstrates what good effects his diet has on his growth and—in the grand finale—his mother's. (Harcourt/Red Wagon, $10.95 14p ages 6 mos.-3 yrs. ISBN 978-0-15-206013-8; Mar.)

The board book edition of Fix-It Duck by Jez Alborough, the follow-up to Duck in a Truck ("a quacking good read-aloud," according to PW), finds the handy quacker attempting to repair a leaky roof with his usual er, aplomb. (Kane/Miller, $7.99 32p ages 3-6 ISBN 978-1-933605-30-2; Mar.)

Tana Hoban takes the concepts of her earlier board books, Black on White and White on Black, and combines them into one accordion-fold board book, Black & White. A black bib drops out of a white background; a white bottle drops out of a black background. When playtime is over, the book folds up and fastens with Velcro. (HarperFestival/Greenwillow, $7.99 16p 6 mos.-2 yrs. ISBN 978-0-06-117211-3; Feb.)

Finally, the classic love story between man and machine who, together help build the town hall, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton (first published in 1939), comes to board book for a new generation. (Houghton, $7.99 40p ages 6 mos.-3 yrs. ISBN 978-0-618-84019-9; Mar.)

Fiction REPRINTS

Akimbo and the Elephants; Akimbo and the Lions Alexander McCall Smith, illus. by LeUyen Pham. Bloomsbury, $4.95 each ISBN 978-1-59990-031-5; 978-1-59990-032-2. A boy living on the edge of an African wildlife preserve must help stop poachers hungry for ivory tusks and lions that prey on a cattle farm. "The tales' brevity, Smith's concise writing and Pham's evocative half-tone illustrations make these an attractive choice for reluctant readers," in PW's words. Ages 7-9. (Feb.)

Heroes Don't Run: A Novel of the Pacific War Harry Mazer. S&S/ Aladdin, $5.99 ISBN 978-1-4169-3394-6. Adam enlists in the Marines in 1944 to face combat in Okinawa in this third novel begun with A Boy at War (which PW's starred review said "successfully fuses a strong portrayal of Adam's transformation with both a vivid account of the attack and subtle suggestions of the complexities of Japanese-American relations"). Ages 8-12. (Feb.)

The Van Gogh Café Cynthia Rylant. Harcourt, $5.95 ISBN 978-0-15-205750-3. In a starred review PW said, "This enchanted cafe instills faith and good will in its patrons. As Rylant gently guides her characters toward their magnificent destinies, the strength of her imagination and the depth of her sensitivity will impress even reluctant readers." Ages 8-12. (Feb.)

My Big Sister Is So Bossy She Says You Can't Read This Book Mary Hershey. Random/Yearling, $5.50 ISBN 978-0-553-48797-8. Meet 10-year-old Effie, whose father is in jail for a white-collar crime and whose older sister seems to be following in his footsteps, in what PW called a "snappy, irreverently funny first novel." Ages 9-12. (Feb.)

The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs Betty G. Birney. S&S/Aladdin, $5.99 ISBN 978-1-4169-3489-9. A boy's father challenges him to find the title wonders in their 1920s Missouri hometown, in this "tender and captivating gem of a novel," according to PW's starred review. Ages 8-12. (Feb.)