YOU CAN’T TASTE A PICKLE WITH YOUR EAR

Aiming to raise the consciousnesses of newly fledged readers about their sensoria, the prolific Ziefert presents a breezy tally of basic facts about smell, touch, taste, hearing, and sight. She intersperses pages of goofy verse (“When you’re tired and think you’re sweet, / Pull off your socks and smell your feet”) and each chapter includes a page of feedback-inducing questions as, “Have you ever touched anything that you’ll never touch again?” To go with the text’s informal, hand-printed look, Haley scatters a multicultural, multi-age cast of smiling, freely drawn cartoon children across the pages. The author touches on interrelationships between, for instance, smell and taste, and makes it clear that the brain is a sort of silent partner in perception, but she stays at skin level. Point out the “Let’s Read and Find Out” series to children who want to probe a bit deeper. (Picture book/nonfiction. 6-8)