THE MUSIC PACK

Van der Meer and Berkeley (The Art Pack, not reviewed) present a pop-up book for grown-ups, with a cavalcade of inventive pull- tabs, flaps, and paper-engineering gewgaws. Brass, woodwinds, strings, and voice: The principles behind these diverse ways of making noise are explained. Particularly fun is the rattle used to explain the principle of percussion. It has a handle and a thin membrane from which two orange beads, attached by strings, hang. If you don't learn much about drumming from it, you'll at least have a good game of paddleball. In between gadgets, there's a tolerable history of Western music capped by a time line; a small musical dictionary; and a 75-minute CD with ``Twenty Masterpieces,'' covering, chronologically, Josquin des Prez to Berlioz. (First printing of 100,000; Book-of-the-Month Club alternate selection)