LATE FOR SCHOOL

“Woke up this morning / Clock said I was late for school / Teacher told me that’s not cool / Gotta put my shirt and pants on / Flew down the front stair / Wet my fingers and slicked my hair / Elbowed grandma passing by / Her face went into a pie.” This little guy with great big ears doesn’t want to disappoint Mom and Dad or end up in the grammar slammer, so he puts on some wild speed. He log rolls across a neighbor’s pool and uses the diving board to grab a kite tail. He floats to the football field and makes a mad dash through the school building…you know where this is heading: It’s Saturday! Rats! Thank goodness he gets home in time to go fishing with Dad. Martin turns one of the songs from his 2009 Grammy-winning bluegrass recording into what functions best as a read-along (or sing-along) with the enclosed CD; only he can make his wild word rhythms shine. Payne’s painted illustrations are a good-enough match, but they are hardly as frenetic as the song. Definitely worth a place in your picture-book collection nevertheless. (Picture book. 4-8)