MY POP-UP SURPRISE ABC

A tiny robot guides readers through this inventive pop-up alphabet book, by peeking around corners, popping up over pull- tabs, and materializing behind closed doors. Although the mechanisms that run this pop-up book are simple, they are put to use in many clever ways. For instance, the window for A says ``apple.'' When the reader pulls on a tab, a shiny red apple with an ant on it appears. Folding over the flap with the apple reveals more ants, who have devoured the entire piece of fruit. X—for ``X-ray''—shows the skeletons of not only a boy, but a mouse and the robot. Some actions are straightforward: a sun rises for S; a kite takes flight for K; a rainbow revolves on a wheel to fill the sky for R. Other actions are more involved: A zebra's stripes appear only when the darkness of night lifts, and what seems to be a pull-tab for ``yoyo'' is the toy itself, which descends on an elastic string. The pictures are bright and alive with bugs, kids, and pets, and readers who enjoy a hunt can track the little robot on every page. (Pop-up. 2-6)