Hickory Dickory Dock
PreSchool-Grade 2—Using rhyming, rhythmic language, Baker expands the traditional nursery rhyme into an around-the-clock adventure. The story begins as a small rodent scurries up to a grandfather clock standing in a field: "Hickory/dickory/dock,/the mouse/ran up/the clock./The clock/struck one…/it's time for fun!" As the timepiece marks each hour, another creature—a bird, a snake, a rabbit, etc.—interacts with it, and then takes off to follow its own pursuits: "Hickory/dickory/dock,/a pig/oinked at/the clock./Seven/was struck…/he rolled in muck!" Finally, at midnight, the mouse hurries off to bed beneath a star-filled sky. The short stanzas make this tale appealing to beginning readers as well as a good read-aloud for small children. Large, bold illustrations done in Adobe Photoshop capture the whimsy of the text and will hold the attention of the youngest listeners. The boldly delineated clock face, with hands pointing clearly to each hour, may also help with basic time-telling skills. A useful and fun selection.—Sally R. Dow, Ossining Public Library, NYCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.