IMAGINARY MENAGERIE

Longfellow's confection is a busy child's delight: The creatures in the imaginary menagerie are slowly revealed, first in peeks through square die-cut holes, then in full-page portraits, and finally in fold-out spreads that deliver the punch lines. The text is set in simple rhyme of couplets that turn on word repetition: ``If I had a . . . cat/We'd wear a hat, hat, hat'' The mood is loopy and comfortably eccentric; readers will join in hiding spiders, jogging with dogs, reading with centipedes, conveying the mail with a snail. Fun can be had on a number of levels here—a couple of guessing games, at the identity of each creature, at the choice of rhyme (there are clues). Hubbard's companionable illustrations use a bold, flat, richly patterned gouache; these swirl with color and use inventive creatures in impressive positions, e.g., a giraffe rolling on the floor with laughter. (Picture book. 4-8)