ARNOLD ALWAYS ANSWERS

Taking an unusually creative approach to dramatizing antonyms, Kotter's debut book presents a preschooler's day through queries posed by his mother, from the first time she asks, ``Awake or asleep?'' and he hops out of bed until the second time, when he's too drowsy to hear her last whisper. Meanwhile, this wise parent offers Arnold plenty of choices: ``Hot or cold?'' cereal, ``Long or short'' pants, ``In or out?'' to play, and so on—a fine reminder that life has plenty of alternatives without resorting to the classic negative—which appears here only when Arnold says, ``More playtime,'' and Mother answers, ``No, rest time.'' Conteh-Morgan uses bright, cheery torn-paper collages textured with block prints and fingerpaint to represent the two. Attractive, thoughtfully crafted. (Picture book. 2-6)