NEVER TEASE A WEASEL

New illustrations add a visual zip to this bit of verbal tomfoolery that was missing from the 1964 original. Soule’s verses ring changes on the benefits of providing various animals with clothing or other comforts—“You could give a mule a pool and some jaunty swimming trunks / or send a case of Spanish lace to a pair of lady skunks”—with the titular warning for a refrain. Wielding pen and brush with loose fluidity, Booth presents an array of gleeful children, along with wall-eyed animals responding, usually, but not always, positively, to their comically inappropriate new garb. Despite the nonviolent ending, plus a probably dated reference to a “riding habit,” the bouncy text is as perfect as ever for reducing a young audience to hysterics, and Booth’s scribbly art kicks it up an additional notch. Not every re-illustrated reissue is an improvement, but here’s an exception. (Picture book. 6-8)