Midnight Madness at the Zoo

Craig debuts with a rhymed counting story that assembles a five-on-five basketball game as it makes its way to 10. The players are various zoo animals, squaring off after the visitors have left for the day. The premise doesn't quite live up to the "madness" suggested by the title, and while Jones's handsome illustrations include some playful touches (a tiny frog attempts to guard a polar bear), their gauzy softness and the animals' sometimes static positions don't really create a sense of madcap athletic action. Craig's sturdy rhymes are faithful to the rhythm she establishes, and the occasional use of basketball jargon (defined in a glossary, included along with supplemental activity suggestions) adds welcome dashes of irreverence: "Now seven ballers speed up play./ One side takes up the press./ A player goes to make a jam./ It's seal's turn to impress." But because each rhyme introduces a new player, there's always a mismatch between the number of animals being counted and pictured on page, and the occasional presence of three zebra referees can add to the problem. Ages 4-8. Illustrator's agent: Maggie Byer-Sprinzeles, Byer-Sprinzeles Agency. (Feb.)