SEEING LONDON

Six expeditions for ""the pomp and pageantry, the magic and ever changing moods of this breathtakingly beautiful city,"" visiting places with ""no nonsense about being accompanied by an adult."" Two children proceed through the city, taking the big red buses (pictured as big red elephants). The maps and text are usually adequate, although there are some surprising omissions (the Bloomsbury map has no Russell Square) and the promise to indicate places with admission fees is not always adhered to (""do forgive me if you catch me out on a detail, here and there"" asks the author). The saccharine tone (the Tate Gallery is ""built out of sugar cubes"" because Henry Tate ""made his name and fortune by inventing the sugar cube"") is almost certain to turn off youngsters. Both Street and Rosenbaum for slightly older children have similar information; this is intended for children 8-9, but they won't be able to read it and they won't listen to it read aloud.