SNAKES AND LADDERS (AND HUNDREDS OF MICE)

This interactive book follows the ladders-go-up, snakes-go-down rules of the traditional board game. Holding the book vertically, readers begin in a room on the lowest level of a Pisa-like leaning tower, tracing ladders with their fingers; if they meet a snake at the top of a ladder, they are required to slide all the way down, which could mean backtracking several pages. The intricacy of the diverting illustrations means continual surprises, from balconies peppered with poison plants and spiny cacti to rooms peopled with unraveling Egyptian mummies and creatures built of pipe. Each flip of the page increases in difficulty, challenging readers to recall where color-coded ladders lead and employ strategy if they become boxed in a room. Adding to the humor along the way are hundreds of mice engaged in every imaginable activity from parachuting to dishwashing. The only text appears in conversation bubbles in which mice ask, ``Have you seen my umbrella?'' or ``Where are my glasses?'' and thereby invite onlookers to conduct needle-in-the-haystack searches. The journey's the thing in this game whose format ensures that there will be no lost pieces. (Picture book. 4-10)