MICHAEL FOREMAN’S PLAYTIME RHYMES

A comprehensive anthology of favorite children’s activity rhymes that is sure to have children building churches with their fingers; celebrating all the animals on Old Macdonald’s farm; and rowing their boat gently down the stream. Multiple verses are continued across double-page spreads while shorter poems are grouped together on pages around a central theme. A little bear draws readers along from one rhyme to the next, with a somewhat ephemeral connection between verses. So, for instance, as the players recite Here’s the Church, skeletons (from the church graveyard?) can be seen sprinting across the background. On the next page, they are lined up to sing Dem Bones. Likewise, they join in the Hokey Pokey and follow the bear to help point out Head Shoulders Knees and Toes. Brightly colored watercolor illustrations feature people and animals playing along with the rhyming instructions in each poem. While most illustrations lack oomph, parents, educators, and Foreman’s legions of fans will turn to this one to prompt their memories of long-forgotten poems or to learn new ones. An index of first lines and a primer on the activities or motions that should accompany the verses follows the collection. What it lacks in visual excitement, it makes up for in thoroughness. A perfect companion to Michael Forman’s Mother Goose (1991). (Nonfiction. 2-6)