TWINKLE, TWINKLE, LITTLE STAR

Twelve children’s songs are presented in this picture book with accompanying CD.

The songs are mostly familiar tunes: “I’m a Little Teapot,” “If You’re Happy and You Know It,” “Old MacDonald” and so on. There are two exceptions. First is a tongue twister set to music: “Swan swam over the sea, / Swim, swan, swim! / Swan swam back again, / Well swum, swan.” The other is a satisfying little ditty: “My hat, it has three corners, / Three corners has my hat, / And had it not three corners, / It would not be my hat.” The sprightly illustrations feature two children, a large white mouse and, in some, an animate toy monkey acting out the songs with ebullience. In the teapot spread, the children are having a tea party in an upside-down table that is their pretend boat, with the toy monkey holding a teacup and the mouse perched on the prow with a telescope and a cup hanging from its tail. The pink-eared mouse wearing a blue dress appears in every scene. All of the images brim with amusing details (bugs, ants, Pinocchio). The female singers (one adult, one girl) on the CD have a leisurely lilt that is sure to have kids and adults singing along as they turn the pages.

Most songbooks fall into two categories: either a traditional picture book with one song or a big volume with an assortment of songs. This effort hits a nice in-between note.