THE BUSY BUILDING BOOK

From the opening page, readers are launched into a description of a construction site: ``Before construction can start, the site is boarded off to keep pedestrians out.'' Every double-page spread presents a short text and the steady progress at the site of a future office building, with labels and pointers for about 20 items in the scene (e.g., ``site hoarding sheets,'' ``safety officer,'' and ``dump truck''). There are pages on excavation, building a foundation, and putting up scaffolding, down to a scene of wallpaper hangers and moving men. Toddlers will pore over the trucks, machinery, and building, even if the stylized art—bright blocks of color resembling cut-paper collage—leaves out the details they crave most. Every hardhat is almost identical; there is no detail in the caterpillar tires, pistons, or vents. Ayliffe concentrates on soaring perspectives and congenial, cluttered settings; the imaginative use of colors and shapes keeps all the girders, building materials, and scenes distinct. (Picture book. 2-6)