SINGING BEE!

The 125 selections include virtually every song common to early childhood: from lullabies and nursery rhymes to ""The people on the bus"" and ""Jingle Bells"" (in that order). The arrangements are super-simple--presumably to allow the less accomplished kindergarten teacher or parent to play them. But it's the presentation that distinguishes the book: the variety of sunny, tender, slyly amusing pictures--some full-page, most in color--that repay a close look between singing sessions and will induce children to ask for more, more, more. And the overall look is old-fashioned--as Lobel admirers will appreciate--in a fresh and perky way.