THE FARMER IN THE DELL

A favorite song of childhood gets Wallner’s sprightly folk-art treatment in pen-and-ink and watercolor. The rural landscapes, done in a palette dominated by green, brown, orange, and yellow, have the look of crazy quilts pieced from calico. A field dotted with pumpkins intersects another dotted with haycocks, which butts up against an apple orchard, bordered by a sinuous strip of road. Interiors move the story forward; after the “the wife takes a child,” the household falls into disarray, but is restored when “the child takes a nurse.” A pouncing cat and the thieving rat propel things along, until the cheese stands alone and the family dances in the background. The music and lyrics are provided on the final page of this charming work. (Picture book. 4-8)