Here’s a Book You Can Take for a Walk

Pulitzer Prize-winning author and artist Art Spiegelman says that when he first set out to build a library for his young children, he made a startling discovery: Too few of today’s children’s authors evoke the whimsy and fun of a Dr. Seuss or inspire the imagination the way A.A. Milne did.

Spiegelman decided to fill the void.

“I wanted to create a book with unusual special effects that weren’t simply novelties,” he said, “but actually added to the real texture of the story.” The result was “Open Me . . . I’m a Dog” (HarperCollins, 30 pages, $14.95).

This richly illustrated book comes replete with felt-covered “dog-skin” end pages, pop-ups, flaps that unfold--and a leash attached. The leash is needed, the reader soon learns, because the book is not a book at all, but a dog that has been turned into a book by an evil wizard.

Vibrant colors have become a signature of David Kirk’s popular “Miss Spider” series. The third installment, “Miss Spider’s New Car” (Scholastic, 31 pages, $16.95), has just been released. This time, the rhyming verse finds Miss Spider and husband Holley in the market for a dependable car. Along the way, they run across a widely imaginative cast of bugs that would have done Lewis Carroll proud. But the breezy plot, as always, takes a back seat to Kirk’s wonderful oil-on-paper paintings, which--with their dark, foreboding backgrounds and sharp, photo-quality images--assume a 3-D feel.

Collage artist Linnea Riley achieves the same effect in “Mouse Mess” (Scholastic, 32 pages, $15.95). Her 158 words of rhyming text follow a hungry mouse’s untidy adventure through a well-stocked kitchen--and become almost incidental when matched against Riley’s riveting cut-paper illustrations.

“The Magic School Bus,” by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen, inspired a popular PBS television show, which entered its fourth season this fall. The authors have marked the occasion by releasing “The Magic School Bus and the Electric Field Trip” (Scholastic, 48 pages, $15.95), the ninth title in their series of science books aimed at ages 6 through 9.

This time Ms. Frizzle and the gang get a firsthand look at how electricity works and how electric currents generate light, heat and motion. Though the book is bigger than its siblings, measuring 8 3/8 by 10 inches, its pages seem crowded, and the story is slowed by the sheer volume of information that Cole and Degen have squeezed in. This could be a problem for readers with short attention spans.

Two decidedly more low-tech looks at how things work are “Big Red Fire Truck” (Scholastic, 14 pages, $14.95) and “Tractor Trouble” (Lodestar, 10 pages, $14.99). Each travels well-worn territory, but a number of creatively designed moving flaps and sliding tabs gives new life to the familiar subjects and add an interactive dimension that makes young readers part of the story.

The best picture books are those that match compelling stories with dynamic illustrations. It’s a rare combination, but it’s one to be found in “Konte Chameleon Fine, Fine, Fine!” (Boyds Mills Press, 28 pages, $14.95), a West African folk tale retold by Cristina Kessler and richly illustrated by Cameroon native Christian Epanaya.

The story features a pair of unforgettable creatures, Konte Chameleon and Doctor Jolloh, who spend the book marveling at Konte’s uncanny gift for changing colors. Kessler’s retelling makes such good use of odd, lyric sounds and repetitive language that it is almost impossible not to read--or sing--the story aloud.

While picture books rightly are considered the domain of beginning readers, there’s some truth to the adage that a picture is worth a thousand words, no matter how old you are. “She’s Been Working on the Railroad” (Lodestar, 104 pages, $16.99), Nancy Smiler Levinson’s documentary of women railroad workers, is well-complemented by photographs taken and collected by Shirley Burman.

The story, aimed at ages 10 through 14, explores the untold story of women overcoming sexism and abuse to make their own unique contributions to railroad history. But it’s the photos--women driving the spikes, operating the engines and working in the engine house--that bring the history to life.

* Kevin Baxter reviews books for children and young adults every four weeks. Next week: D. James Romero looks at books on pop culture.