HERE ARE MY HANDS

A dozen suitably assorted five- or six-year-olds point out different parts of the body, each accompanied by half of a rhymed couplet: "Here are my feet for stopping and going. Here is my head, for thinking and knowing." A simple idea, at first glance, but carefully developed to suggest the dramas of childhood—the knees for falling (and skinning), the neck for turning (a game but apprehensive haircut recipient), the cheeks for kissing and blushing (a delicious Valentine of an Oriental face), the ears for washing—and, in the illustration, listening to a shell with deftly captured wonder. Rand's ebullient, exuberantly drawn kids fill the pages, almost life-size. On jacket and title page they're all lined up in a Chorus Line-like array—a perfectly organized arrangement that celebrates their humanity and individuality. With bright colors, simple but evocative illustrations and a clear, succinct text, this is just right for the youngest when they are learning to describe themselves.