KANGAROOS HAVE JOEYS

Browne (A Gaggle of Geese, 1996, etc.) presents a parade of vibrantly colored, intricately patterned portraits of animals and their young. The first four pages—``Cod have codlings/Penguins have chicks/Moose have calves/Rabbits have kits''—set the rhythm for the (sometimes rhyming) text, which catalogs 24 pairs, ending, wryly, with, ``And moles have . . . moles!'' The book concludes with a few brief paragraphs about each of the animals. The juxtaposition of colors, with red on yellow cod fish, purple on aqua geese, and turquoise on an orange tiger, combined with heavy black outlines for figures and borders, gives each panel an arresting, stained glass quality. Each picture sports a design ``reflecting the cultures to which the animal belongs.'' The sophisticated use of color and texture will appeal to readers older than the usual picture-book audience. A lavish, informative work. (Picture book. 5-10)