HIDDLEDY PIGGLEDY HOBBLEDY HOY

by Dorothy Butler ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 18, 1991

Nonsense phrases like the title here alternate with a different sort of nonsense--""A good little girl and a bad little boy. . .It's slow little you and it's fast little me""-- as a complacent tot lords it over her disgruntled companion while the two lead a cheery band of animal musicians through the forest. The boy rebels and turns tables, reversing the verses' import. Now it's the animals' turn for chagrin: ""Stop! What about the picnic?""--and the two children, giving up their senseless competition, join the others for a scrumptious feast. The use of language here is so inspired that the message keeps its punch without a trace of acerbity. Kriegler achieves a pleasing unity by marching characters and vegetations along a level, childlike horizon; her lively, expressive figures echo the wry good humor of early Sendak. A winning counter to the ""sugar and spice and everything nice"" stereotype.

Pub Date: March 18, 1991

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 30

Publisher: Greenwillow

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1991

Categories: CHILDREN'S