THE BELLY BOOK

“Everybody has a belly. / Babies have them. / So do pops. / So do firemen. / So do cops.” Crafting an easy reader in the classic mode, Harris pairs a few spare words per page to simple, colorful drawings of smiling children, adults and animals posed to display a wide array of clothed, furred and bare midsections. The cheery art suggests that a celebration of the belly as major tickling territory is coming; instead, the author goes for a Message—“But bellies aren’t great / when you can’t read your weight”—and closes with a mild warning about the discomforts that occur when you eat too much junk food. Emergent readers aren’t likely to change their eating habits, but they’ll get the point, and also enjoy the menagerie of midriffs. (Easy reader. 4-6)