A cumulative romp through the backyard is further enlivened by tickles and hugs and kisses.
Sheep and mouse and a piglet named Baby are kissing on the green grass, until Baby cries, "Stop! Stop!" and runs away. Sheep and mouse give chase, all around the garden and lawn, even crawling on a plank near the gardening implements and pots. "No more kisses!" Sheep, shorn and wearing a short red sweater, is very large and walks on two legs, while tiny mouse, sporting a long striped scarf, is barely as large as one of sheep's hooves. (Piglet's short sweater has blue stripes.) Every part of the game has its own repeated refrain—trip trap, trip trap as they go up some steps, whooshy whoo down a slide, wiggle squiggle through a tunnel and shiffle shuffle down a beam. The chase ends under an enormous oak tree—roundy round, roundy round. Then piglet holds out his arms...for more kisses. Wild's refreshingly tender tale of affection is nicely targeted to the very young, and the cumulating refrains are ideal for call and response. The onomatopoeic elements are printed in varying typefaces and romp across the pages with the characters, nicely calling attention to themselves. Rycroft's pastel garden looks lush and verdant, though her anthropomorphized sheep may initially seem a bit imposing to American children (the book was first published in Australia).
Simple and sweet. (Picture book. 2-5)
