WAKE UP, LITTLE CHILDREN

Subtitled ``A Rise-and-Shine Rhyme,'' this wake-up story does for mornings what bedtime stories have long done for evenings. Sleepy children reluctant to leave their cozy covers will be enticed to greet each day by the singing verse of this hymn to nature and its offerings: grassy meadows to caress bare feet, singing wrens, frogs to catch, wild flowers to smell, trees to climb, the stillness to appreciate. This harmonious second collaboration of Aylesworth and Krudop (The Good-Night Kiss, 1993, not reviewed) depicts two children free to explore their farmland environment without fear; it's a reassuring view, if a bit rare, especially for urban children. Inviting illustrations bathe verdant country scenes in a warm, impressionistic glow. (Picture book. 4-7)