ALL ABOUT RATTLESNAKES
by Jim Arnosky
Scholastic;ISBN: 0590467948;$15.95;1997

Vivid green, gold, and brown pictures, some lifesize, accompany a brief but factfilled text. For all young snake lovers.

Suggested for ages 5 - 10
Subjects: Snakes

THE LITTLE SHIPS: THE HEROIC RESCUE AT DUNKIRK IN WORLD WAR II
by Louise Borden
illustrated by Michael Foreman
Margaret McElderry;ISBN: 0689808275;$15;1997

The young narrator recounts the nine days in 1941 when she donned her brother's trousers to work beside her father on the fishing boat "Lucy." Foreman's watercolors create a sense of place and evoke the drama of the wartime rescues carried out by civilian heroes on their "little ships."

Suggested for ages 6 - 10
Subjects: Boats | Fiction | World War II

THINKING ABOUT ANTS
by Barbara Brenner
illustrated by Carol Schwartz
Mondo;ISBN: 1572552107;$14.95;1997

The author's challenge to think about ants in all their variety is irresistible when accompanied by colorful paintings of these fascinating insects. Schwartz plays with scale so that sometimes the ants are life-size, while other times they cover the page.

Suggested for ages 4 - 10

ANT PLAYS BEAR
by Betsy Byars
illustrated by Marc Simont
Viking;ISBN: 0670867764;$11.99;1997

Four more stories for beginning readers from the author and illustrator of My Brother Ant. Younger, literal-minded Ant sometimes tries the patience of his wiser older brother, but love and kindness prevail. Simont's understated illustrations match the gentle humor of the stories.

Suggested for ages 5 - 8
Subjects: Beginning Readers | Brothers | Fiction | Humor

ONE GRAIN OF RICE: A MATHEMATICAL FOLKTALE
by  Demi
Scholastic;ISBN: 059093998X;$19.95;1997

When you double a grain of rice every day for a month, it really adds up! A clever village girl teaches the Rajah to be wise and to appreciate math in this folktale retelling.

Suggested for ages 6 - 11
Subjects: Folktales | India | Mathematics

THE HUNTERMAN AND THE CROCODILE: A WEST AFRICAN FOLKTALE
by Baba Wagué Diakité
Scholastic;ISBN: 0590898280;$15.95;1997

The voice of the storyteller resonates in the text of this West African tale that turns on the relationship between man, animals, and the earth they all share. Boldly stylized ceramic-tile paintings reinforce the ancient, universal lineage of this narrative.

Suggested for ages 5 - 10
Subjects: Africa | Crocodiles | Folktales

WHY LAPIN'S EARS ARE LONG: AND OTHER TALES FROM THE LOUISIANA BAYOU
by Sharon Arms Doucet
illustrated by David Catrow
Orchard;ISBN: 0531300412;$18.95;1997

Compere Rabbit, Br'er Rabbit's Louisiana cousin, is small but tricky. In the title story, he milks a wildcat, snatches an alligator's egg, and steals a grizzly's tooth. Ink and watercolor illustrations perfectly complement the great storytelling that begs to be spoken aloud.

Suggested for ages 7 - 11
Subjects: Folktales

FLOATING HOME
by David Getz
illustrated by Michael Rex
Henry Holt;ISBN: 0805044973;$15.95;1997

Eight-year-old Maxine joins the space shuttle crew for an outer space adventure in this imaginative blend of fact and fiction.

Suggested for ages 6 - 9
Subjects: Fiction