IN A CABIN IN A WOOD

. . .little man by the window stood./Saw a rabbit hopping by,/. . .'Help me, help me, help!' it said./'Before the hunter shoots me dead.'"" The illustration reveals that the hunter is only a woman with a camera, but the kindly old man (an artist) takes in not only the rabbit but a lively possum family and several other animals--who overrun his cabin, try out his paints and plumbing (moose in the bathtub), and are finally so obstreperous that artist and rabbit devise a clever ruse: a bit of black paint disguises rabbit as skunk, and, presto! the other animals are back outside to be photographed. McNally's expansion of this old song lends itself nicely to the suggested ""play actions"" or to dramatic play. Koontz's colorful illustrations, in a relaxed style, are full of the animals' comical mischief, extending the text with details like a possum baby that stays on after the others leave--plus the bunny-skunk denouement. Good fun.