FICTION

The Cow Tripped over the Moon: A Nursery Rhyme Emergency

by Jeanne WILLIS
illus. by Joel Stewart. 32p. Candlewick. May 2015. Tr $15.99. ISBN 9780763674021. LC 2014945704.
COPY ISBN
PreS-K—Willis takes six traditional rhymes and gives them a new twist by successfully rescuing each character through the arrival of the nursery-rhyme ambulance. "Here comes the ambulance! It's on its way./Who's had an accident in Storyland today?/Driver, put your foot down. Don't waste time./This is an Emergency Nursery Rhyme." It rescues a cow that has tripped over the moon, Rock-a-bye Baby in a compost heap, and even manages to put the shattered Humpty Dumpty together again using jam and bread. Stewart's mixed-media cartoon illustrations are done in a cheerful palette and have a child-friendly quirkiness. Children would need to be familiar with the original rhymes to appreciate the parodies, but hopefully they would be.
VERDICT While not an essential purchase, this book could make a nice complement to a nursery rhyme-themed storytime.
Reviewed by Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ
For this clever story, Willis invents a genial ambulance crew who takes care of nursery rhyme accidents. "Has Jack Be Nimble burned his bum? / Has Little Jack Horner choked on a plum?" The illustrations are as sprightly as the rhyme; the ambulance bounces down the road, while ambulance-chasing characters from "Hey Diddle Diddle," such as the dish and the spoon, show up at each emergency.
 , Apr 01, 2015

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