MISS MABEL'S TABLE
by Deborah Chandra & illustrated by Max Grover
In a musical cumulation echoing ``The House That Jack Built,'' ingredients for a generous batch of pancakes are assembled on Miss Mabel's table on versos (``...the morning light,/that shines on five eggs, smooth and white,/that wait near the flour (four cups, no more)...''), while Miss Mabel herself, in full-bleed recto paintings, rises before dawn and makes her way, by bike and elevated train, to her eponymous cafÇ. There she mixes it all together and serves ten of the characters seen en route. There's lots more to count in Grover's sophisticated yet childlike paintings, brilliant with saturated, artfully balanced colors. Innovative and fresh as a new day. The recipe—complete with cinnamon and strawberries—sounds yummy and would really work, too. (Picture book. 3-7)