THE RING WENT ZING!

When a frog and chicken fall in love, the frog proposes but drops the ring. It skips away past a jogging swan, a rabbit on a skateboard, a goat on a trike and a sausage dog on a motorcycle. As the chicken and frog give chase, the swan calls out, “Hop on! We’ll stop that ring!” Each animal they pass adds to the stack, à la the Bremen Town Musicians. In energetic pursuit the sextet “race[s], chase[s], stretche[s], perche[s], hurrie[s], scurrie[s], swerve[s], and lurche[s]” as the runaway ring tings, pings, zings—and plops into the town-square fountain. Everyone is dismayed, except the frog, who hops into the fountain and retrieves it. The story ends with a kiss—and a surprise. It’s the details in Barton’s comic pencil-and-watercolor illustrations combined with the oh-so-catchy text that put the zing in the tale. Accessories add flair to each character: The chicken wears a pearl necklace; her swain has a red-and-white striped scarf; the swan wears headphones; the dog strums a guitar. The playful type puts bounce in the madcap adventure. A ring-a-ding winner. (Picture book. 4-7)