CATHERINE AND LAURENCE ANHOLT'S BIG BOOK OF FAMILIES

Catherine And Laurence Anholt’s Big Book Of Families (32 pp.; $16.99; Nov.; 0-7636-0323-6): Bursting with the boisterous business of family life, this volume from the Anholts is “big” on activity. Poems and captions take a backseat to spread after spread of family members shopping, chasing, tugging, napping, working, playing, fighting, feeding. The best descriptions are the ones that make poetic leaps, e.g., this exultation of a clothesline: “Skirts and shirts and dressing gowns—/The wind begins to blow—/They’re like a family upside down,/Dancing in a row!” Another page lists verbs such as “bathe,” “chatter,” “hurry,” and “play,” accompanied by fetching little drawings that place the verbs in a familial context. A celebration for families of all sizes and configurations. (Picture book. 3-7)