TAP-TAP

Add this simple story about Haiti to the growing list of high- quality picture books set in the Caribbean (see also Tukama Tootles the Flute by Phillis Gershator, p. 142). The team that produced Galimoto (1990) depicts Sasifi, who is finally old enough to help her mother carry baskets of oranges to market and is rewarded with the luxury of a ride on a ``tap-tap''—a brightly painted truck/taxi. Young listeners will enjoy figuring out what the ``tap- tap'' is, counting the dozen or so passengers who crowd it with their goods and chattels (including a balky goat), and the suspense when Sasifi's new hat blows off and she can't seem to get anyone to notice. There's lots of regional flavor in the lively, well- researched watercolors, too, and in occasional French words thrown into the dialogue. (Picture book. 5-8)