edited by Jane Yolen & illustrated by Will Hillenbrand ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2006
Divided into the types of games parents and children can play as they read these rhymes, this collection focuses on lifting, bumping, wiggling, clapping and pantomiming motions. With directions for play, brief historical notes, music for piano and guitar and many of the more obscure rhymes, this is a comprehensive collection. Yolen’s introduction states that, “The lap is a kind of schoolroom. What a child learns there is learned forever.” In this case, they will learn not only the familiar, but some British and European rhymes, little-known to the American mom or dad, but good for playing games similar to the recognizable ones. Hillenbrand’s illustrations are a delight, featuring a largely porcine cast, soft colors and playful borders echoing the monkey business within. A 15-minute CD of selected songs arranged and performed by Jeff Waxman is included. With so much vibrant and fun music out there for kids now, this CD is a disappointment by being neither. If comprehensiveness is a consideration, this is a must for a collection. (Picture book. 1-5)
Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-7636-1348-7
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2006
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by Jane Yolen ; illustrated by Cathrin Peterslund
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by Jane Yolen ; illustrated by Paolo Domeniconi
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by Jane Yolen & John Patrick Pazdziora ; illustrated by Lyndsay Roberts Rayne
by Jeffrey Burton ; illustrated by Sanja Rešček ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 5, 2016
Leave the hopping to Peter Cottontail and sing the original song instead.
An Easter-themed board-book parody of the traditional nursery rhyme.
Unfortunately, this effort is just as sugary and uninspired as The Itsy Bitsy Snowman, offered by the same pair in 2015. A cheerful white bunny hops through a pastel world to distribute candy and treats for Easter but spills his baskets. A hedgehog, fox, mouse, and various birds come to the bunny’s rescue, retrieving the candy, helping to devise a distribution plan, and hiding the eggs. Then magically, they all fly off in a hot air balloon as the little animals in the village emerge to find the treats. Without any apparent purpose, the type changes color to highlight some words. For very young children every word is new, so highlighting “tiny tail” or “friends” makes no sense. Although the text is meant to be sung, the words don't quite fit the rhythm of the original song. Moreover, there are not clear motions to accompany the text; without the fingerplay movements, this book has none of the satisfying verve of the traditional version.
Leave the hopping to Peter Cottontail and sing the original song instead. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-5621-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
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by Jeffrey Burton ; illustrated by Juliana Motzko
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by Jeffrey Burton ; illustrated by Alison Brown
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by Jeffrey Burton ; illustrated by Sanja Rešček
by David Elliott & illustrated by Holly Meade ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2008
Energetic woodcuts accompany playfully simple poems as they give young readers an engaging tour of the barnyard. From the usual suspects—rooster, cow, sheep—to some of the less celebrated denizens of the farm—snake, bees, turtle—each poem varies to suit its subject. The barn cat’s verse is succinct: “Mice / had better / think twice.” The snake’s winds its way down the page in sinuous shape. At their best, Elliott’s images are unexpected and all the more lovely: The turtle “Lifts her fossil head / and blinks / one, two, three / times in the awful light.” Others are not so successful, but Meade’s illustrations give them credence: The rooster “Crows and struts. / He’s got feathers! / He’s got guts!” This rhythmic but rather opaque assertion is accompanied by an oversized rooster who dominates the foreground; eyes shut in concentration, he levitates himself with the force of his crow—the very embodiment of “guts.” Farmyard books are a dime a dozen, but this one is a worthwhile addition, for those poems that reach beyond the ordinary and for the good-natured illustrations that complement them. (Picture book/poetry. 2-5)
Pub Date: March 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-7636-3322-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2008
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by David Elliott ; illustrated by Ellen Rooney
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by David Elliott ; illustrated by Amy Schimler-Safford
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by David Elliott ; illustrated by Evan Turk
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