Children and caregivers who feel they’ve plumbed the pleasures of “Rockabye Baby,” “Eeensy Weensy Spider,” and all the other old chestnuts should fall with glad cries upon this effervescent gathering of original nursery poems and hand rhymes. From a “Bubble Wrap Rap”—“Snap pop pop / Pop pop snap / Dancing on / the bubble wrap . . . ”—to “Crazy Claps,” and “Wavy Waves,” Honey proposes more than a dozen hand-clapping, finger-wriggling, foot-stomping winners. All are illustrated with bright, simply drawn cartoons, supplemented by occasional diagrams, and even a set of hilarious mini-videos on the publisher’s Web site. And, for change of pace, there are several poems just for lap-sit reading, including some grin-inducing nonsense and a very tender lullaby. Children will be delighted to join in, and for adults, this all-too-brief import deserves to become as popular a choice for storytime breaks as Marc Brown’s classic Play Rhymes collections. (Picture book/poetry. 6-8)
