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For the first time, Tom Arma's beloved costumed babies have left the photo studio and ventured into the wild, with their animal families nearby.

Track these irresistible tots through the African savannah, the rain forest, or the Rocky Mountains, and find them right at home with lions and tigers, giraffes and flamingos, rhinos, chameleons, and many more wild creatures. Even the very young will chant along with the charming text, suggested by the traditional "We're Going on a Bear Hunt, " while older readers will ask, "How did they get those photos?"

In his first full-length picture book, Arma (Zoo Crew; Water Babies) fancifully "transports" his usual subjects-adorable infants costumed as animals-to a variety of exotic locales, pairing the cherubic-faced models with creatures living in the African savannah, the rain forest and the Rocky Mountains. A magnificent mama tiger, for example, appears to be toting her "cub" by the scruff of its neck; the baby wears a fetching striped hooded sleeper with ears and tail, grins with aplomb and gives readers a confident thumbs-up. Hort (The Seals on the Bus) contributes verse modeled on "We're going on a bear hunt": "We're going on safari. We're going to shoot some photos.... Get your camera ready-snap!" The text wears thin, but the pictures are delicious, with the three-dimensional feel and color saturation of old Viewmaster vignettes. Toddlers, an audience typically enthralled with photos of their peers, may just go ape for them. Ages 3-6. (Oct.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

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PreS-A book with strong visual and lyrical appeal. Each spread introduces a different animal from the savanna, rain forest, or mountains. On the left-hand page is a chant, modeled after "We're Going on a Bear Hunt," about going on a safari and taking pictures. Each stanza ends with, "Get your camera ready-snap!" On the right-hand page is a full-color photo of a human baby in an intricate animal costume, set against a background of that same animal in its wild habitat. The child appears to be part of the wildlife scene, so that, for example, the one in a hippopotamus costume seems to sit in the water beside a dripping hippo. These vividly rendered pictures have been graphically manipulated and enhanced, so that light, shadow, and color are sharp and hyperrealistic. Fans of Arma's photography will recognize some of the babies and costumes from his board book, Zoo Crew (Grosset & Dunlap, 1997).-Laurie von Mehren, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Parma, OH Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.