TERRORMAZIA

In a particularly challenging maze book, readers must thread their way through a host of evil environments (one tricky maze per spread) on the island of Terrormazia in pursuit of the treasure hidden alongside Crocodile Creek. Simultaneously, they are eluding Captain Sharkskin, a brutish little bugger who is forever threatening the maze-goer with epithets. Each spread is a study in villainy: hovering pirates, snapping crocs, rattling bones, and giant spiders. Mansell's illustrations are a busy swarm of activity Ö la Waldo (right down to characters sporting red-and-white striped shirts); the throngs are lent coherence by sharp inked lines and crisp colors. There are, thankfully, a thousand entertaining incidentals on each page to amuse readers who find themselves lost in dead ends and back alleys. Emerging from each maze to drop through the holes known as ``magic tunnels'' to the next page requires memory and persistence and delivers a real sense of accomplishment. A test of concentration, this one may seduce reluctant or less-adept readers to spend some time in the funhouse. (Picture book. 5+)