OLLIE ALL OVER

Roche (Loo-Loo, Boo, and Art You Can Do, 1996), in her hugely charming, hand-size board book, opens the story with a line that lets toddlers in on a familiar game: ``Ollie was hiding. His mother wasn't finding him, so he hid some more.'' A color-saturated spread shows the room where Ollie, a dog in bright togs, conducts his game. Subsequent pages cut to features in the room in which all the action takes place: Ollie tucks himself into a bookshelf, plants himself in front of the curtains (his shirt is of the same design), crouches next to some steps. His mother pokes about, not seeing Ollie, but there's the suspense: Is she distracted, playing along, or genuinely duped? This is a terrific board book, full of engagement, whimsy, and a healthy respect for the resourcefulness of one-year-olds. The companion volume—Only One Ollie (0-395-81123-6)—is just as fetching. (Board book. 1-3)