BEACH BUNNY

For her first picture-book solo, Selby (In the Still of the Night, 1994) creates bold, colorful graphics that will be popular with the point-and-name set. Harold, in the form of a chubby purple bunny, is the quintessential preschooler; he enjoys spending time with his mother and prepares with a lot of paraphernalia for each and every activity. For a trip to the beach he packs up an entire wagon of gear; one spread shows the items he takes, complete with labels. To go swimming, he dons flippers, snorkel, mask, etc., and has a lovely splash with his mother. As soon as he's on his own, though, he decides he's ``too tired.'' When it's time for lunch, Harold is finally caught unprepared, but his mother has a comforting solution; a second labeled spread shows a bang-up picnic in a book with plenty of visual punch, an appealing main character, and plenty of understated humor. Anyone who has ever spent a half-hour suiting up a toddler for a ten-minute foray into the great outdoors will get a kick out of Harold. It almost need not be said—children will love him, too. (Picture book. 2-6)