FOLLOW THE LINE AROUND THE WORLD

In a natural follow-up to Follow the Line (2006) and Follow the Line Through the House (2007), Ljungkvist runs a new continuous black line from the front cover through each continent, back to New York City, into space for a gander at the universe, then onto the rear cover to spell out a cheery “Hej då” (“bye-bye” in Swedish). Along the way that versatile line draws easily recognizable giraffes and elephants, cacti, camels, kangaroos and polar bears—all mingling with pale-hued images of flora and fauna in silkscreen-style settings and captioned with scattered bits of natural history: “Camels have big padded feet to help them walk on the soft, hot sand.” Retracing the entire itinerary across a map on the final spread, she closes with a plea to “Help save the animals and keep the air clean, / the water pure, and the forests green.” Like its predecessors, this offers at once a challenging exercise for budding artists and a satisfying journey for armchair travelers. (Picture book. 5-8)