Hello School!
Preschoolers who have been brought up onBlue's Cluesbooks and  TV programs already know that everyday inanimate objects sometimes come alive  with a little imagination. All kids on the verge of starting the great adventure  of education will enjoy this poetic celebration of school. Author Dee Lillegard  (Wake Up House!, a  perfect companion toHello School!, also illustrated by Don Carter, andThe Poombah of Badoombah)  creates playful rhymes about the many small joys of a classroom: A window "shows  us if it's sunny, / or if the weather's drippy-runny, / or if the clouds are  actingfunny." And paper: "What's he hiding? / What's he about? / He  needs your hand / to draw him out." Glue, scissors, wastebaskets, tambourines,  swings, numbers, easels, and the teacher's desk are similarly explored. Don  Carter's 3-D pictures, made with foam board, plaster, and acrylic paints, almost  jump out at the reader with their thick, appealing textures and tasty-looking  colors. Preschoolers will be clamoring to go to school after reading this clever  picture book. (Ages 3 to 6)--Emilie Coulter