Imaginative Tales at a Loss for Words

It’s tempting to select a book for a young reader because it looks like what we expect a book to look like. Letters form words form sentences form a story. But some books that toy with the traditional format succeed in ways conventional volumes cannot.

What these books have in common is their interactive quality. They eschew formula and embrace originality, not necessarily in content, but visually. They illustrate, in fact, that different is OK. And they often tell good stories as well.

A rebus, in which pictures stand in for words, is one way to tell a story in an unexpected way. Kate Banks’ “The Bird, the Monkey, and the Snake in the Jungle” ($16, Farrar Straus & Giroux) is a newcomer in this category. Banks and illustrator Tomek Bogacki create a picture-book adventure (suitable for ages 4 and older) about independence and friendship.

A storm brings down the title trio’s tree home and they look for new digs, each dreaming of living alone (a familiar child fantasy). But it seems like all the good places are already taken--and not welcoming. The friends realize they are better off together and adopt a new tree and a new pal. With simple words and pictures that represent words, even the youngest pre-readers can get into the act of “reading” and gain confidence while having fun.

“The Absentminded Fellow” ($16, Farrar Straus & Giroux) is newly illustrated in old comic-book style by Marc Rosenthal, and the tale is told in the detailed pictures and some comics-style balloons. Samuel Marshak created the nameless bumbler 70 years ago, and the Absentminded Fellow (from Portobello Road, as he is known) is still popular in Russian literature.

This faithfully adapted adventure (translated by Richard Peaver) has the long-legged hero--he’s silly like M. Bean and apparently as blind as Mr. Magoo, confusing a cat for his hat--trying to take a train from London to Birmingham. Kids 5 to 7 will have fun “reading out” his mishaps along the way.

Photography is the ticket to the unconventional “Alfred’s Camera: A Collection of Picture Puzzles” ($15.99, Dutton Children’s Books) by David Ellwand. Hand-tinted photographs of photographer Ellwand’s dog, Alfred the Photographer, are framed in the center of each two-page spread, and each is surrounded by a collage of one of Alfred’s 10 favorite collections: keys, biscuits, seashells and so on. The minimal text runs around the outer edge of each page, giving readers 4 to 8 clues about what to look for--including Alfred’s camera, which he needs to photograph his best friend and birthday boy, Spot.

The wordless “Magpie Magic: A Tale of Colorful Mischief” ($14.99, Dial Books for Young Readers), drawn for ages 3 to 8 by April Wilson, is a colorful, imagination-sparking adventure that begins when a child draws a bird--and the bird takes the pencil! Younger readers can work on their colors (eight are featured), and all ages can observe carefully and tell the story themselves. Who’s drawing whom here?

Also from Dutton is the tiny “Mouse Wedding” by Michelle Cartlidge, a new companion to her “Mouse Letters” (1993) and “Mouse’s Scrapbook” (1995). (Each tiny book is $4.99.) In “Mouse Wedding,” happy little creatures gather for a nuptial event. Tucked throughout, in little pockets, are tiny surprises: an invitation, the groom’s top hat, a bouquet to toss and more.

Two atypical books will hit stores in reprint editions in the next few weeks. Mulberry Books’ “Stringbean’s Trip to the Shining Sea” ($4.95), due in April, is a mini-travelogue for ages 4 to 8 illustrated by Jennifer Williams with help from mom Vera B. Williams.

Stringbean and his brother, Fred, and their dog, Potato, are driving from Kansas to California in a pickup. Their adventure is told in postcards (both sides) and “snapshots”--all illustrated by hand.

Tana Hoban’s “I Read Signs” and “I Read Symbols” ($4.95, Mulberry Books) introduce reading and concepts such as recognizing crosswalks. The simple photography primers are for pre-readers from age 3. The new edition of “Symbols” is expected in May.