Telephone is an excellent example of a perfect marriage between text and artwork. Shadowy birds sit on a wire above a neighborhood scene of children playing outside. Mother bird asks a cardinal to tell her son, Peter, to "Fly home for dinner." The cardinal, holding a baseball bat, asks the goose next to him to "Tell Peter: Hit pop flies and homers." And so it goes, each bird mangling the message for the next. Finally, the wise old owl deciphers the message and tells Peter to head home for supper.
Mac Barnett (Battle Bunny), known for his engaging, often zany stories, takes a familiar childhood game to heights only he could imagine. Jen Corace (Little Pea) skillfully weaves small, delightful details into every bird's portrait, offering hints at the garbled message each will deliver. This picture book will be read over and over, as youngsters pore over every spread to guess what comes next. --Cathy Berner, Blue Willow Bookshop, Houston, Tex.