DO YOUR EARS HANG LOW?

Two puppies frolic through the rhymes and rhythms of the traditional song as they meet with eyebrows raised expectantly and their long ears “wobble to and fro.” Outlined in black, red cut-paper heart shapes are suspended romantically above their heads, and like dancers stepping to the same tune, they buoyantly play through the two verses. Mimicking the motion of the text, sometimes facing and sometimes side by side, tails up and wagging, Church presents their musical moment in bold acrylics dashed with texture: sand, print, grass, and petals. Culminating in a climactic gatefold picture of beaming flushed puppies, they reach their penultimate joy by tying their ears into a heart-shaped bow. Her first foray into music in a picture-book format ultimately would be more effective if accompanied by sheet music, but a two-page move-along section suggests how children could enact the verses with a partner. Church has produced other useful materials mainly for the young children’s-book market in Great Britain, but is known most recently for her knock-’em-dead illustrations for Richard Waring’s Hungry Hen (p.1555). Welcome new images for this once sarcastic lyric. (Nonfiction. 3-5)