Mary Had a Little Lamb
PreSchool-Grade 1-There have been many additions and revisions to this much-loved poem since Sarah Josepha Hale's 12-line "Mary's Lamb" was first published. Now, Trapani takes the lamb through a series of new slapstick adventures in 12 new verses. As the author sees it, the free-spirited animal is not the sort to wait around for Mary. Exploring a barnyard, it is first knocked down by a horse, then terrorized by a tough goose, before being drenched by a cow, butted into the air by a goat, and covered in muck when it lands in the pigpen. But farm girl Mary comes to the rescue, gently shampoos her lamb, feeds and kisses it, and tucks it into bed. The bright and lively watercolor illustrations are sweet; the animal starts out full of adventurous confidence, gradually changing through many variations of increasingly comic dismay, until finally it is snuggled all safe and sleepy into its bunk. The music appears at the end of the book, though to sing all of the verses would get monotonous. Read aloud rather than sung, the text works well for storytime; preschoolers will find it both humorous and reassuring.Marian Drabkin, Richmond Public Library, CACopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.