Fuzzy Yellow Ducklings

As he did in One Yellow Lion, Van Fleet once again exhibits a knack for creating animal characters of unusual personality and expressiveness-and he adds to their appeal in drafting them to teach simple identification lessons. Here his captivating cast lurks behind die-cut fold-out panels on each recto page, on which can be seen a labeled shape (circle, crescent, oval, etc.) that has a textured surface. The left-hand pages provide identification clues: thus, a "Woolly White" fleece-like rectangle turns out to be the body of a sheep, grazing with six of his pals. In a particularly comical scene, a "Sticky Pink" line is in fact a frog's tongue, as eight amphibians become entangled in their efforts to catch flies. Like Lion, the book's design is cleanly handsome, with stark white spreads showing only the tactile shape, three words of text and small artwork tied in to the hidden picture. The concluding spread folds out accordion-style to display the entire menagerie; on the reverse is one final surprise formation that any gymnastic troupe might envy. Ages 2-up. (Sept.)