HUGO'S BABY BROTHER

Sibling rivalry, lion-style: Hugo is not prepared to be supplanted, but his mother is cheerfully firm and his dad unsympathetic when he decides to ``do something really terrible''—like reaching for a poisonous snake; still, there are lions his own age to play with, and in the end he makes friends with little Sasha and even rescues him from an elephant. Nothing new here, but the dialogue is sprightly and the feelings true to young children. Wilko's glowing double spreads, rendered in pastels, are lovely—rich color; evanescent, lightly sketched background details; and the delightful lions, who express subtle human emotion with every whisker, leap, and glance. (Picture book. 4-8)