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
Exactly as expected, just right for little readers.
A Halloween-creature edition of the familiar tune “The Wheels on the Bus.”
On its way around town, the bus picks up a Halloween-themed cast of characters, including ghosts, witches, pumpkins, and even sentient candies. The bus driver is a friendly purple monster. After making the rounds, the bus full of creepy creatures is ready for its “next stop: your house!” The text works equally well as a straight read-aloud or sung to the traditional tune. All of the sounds that the bus riders make are fairly obvious: The ghosts go “Boo! Boo! Boo!” and the bats go “Flap! Flap! Flap!” for example. This makes the book participation-friendly even for a crowd that might be hearing it for the first time. Kieley’s illustrations sync nicely with the text, and the characters are friendly rather than scary, with lots of playful details. Some of the witches (who display a variety of racial presentations) share a cauldron of cider and play cards on their bus ride, and some of the cats sip from little cartons of milk. One fun additional illustration is the title-page map of the bus route, which includes Sea Monster Swamp, the Scratching Post (where the cats are, of course), and Bat Caves. Little readers will surely enjoy poring over these details as they bounce along through the text. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Exactly as expected, just right for little readers. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: July 20, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-17488-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
A perfect piece of treasure it is not, but shiver me timbers, it’s fun.
Two pirates and their parrot companion embark on adventures to the tune of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.”
Following Car, Car, Truck, Jeep (2018), Charman and Sharratt team up again for this swashbuckling, musical tale. The two buccaneers and their parrot spend a day at sea engaged in such maritime activities as scrubbing the deck and hoisting the sail along with quintessentially piratical chores like digging up buried treasure. At the end of the day—which culminates in a nonviolent walk across the plank—the two pirates return home. Charman’s rhyming text has a nice cadence, and thanks to the cover note to sing along to the tune of “Row, Row, Row, Your Boat,” it moves along at a nice clip. For the most part, the rhymes work neatly into the tune so that it reads easily the first time through. Sharratt’s black-outlined illustrations are boldly colored and eye-catching. The pirates themselves are not obviously gendered; one presents white and the other has light-brown skin. Most of the ocean creatures have anthropomorphized features—a mostly successful choice with the exception of the jellyfish and octopus, shown awkwardly with humanlike noses and smiles (and, oddly, eyebrows for the octopus). Overall, this one holds high appeal for little readers, and the nature of the singsong-y, rhyming text will make it a highly requested reread.
A perfect piece of treasure it is not, but shiver me timbers, it’s fun. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0319-0
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
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