Jelly Belly
Kindergarten-Grade 4 The cover of this collection of original nursery rhymes is an immediate turn-off: a repulsive, cellulite-brindled slob in a rumpled undershirt showing plenty of spotted belly, formless neck and red, swollen nose. Not all of the watercolor illustrations are unappealing, however. Many are pleasantly whimsical and vary from cartoon-like to realistic, portraying scenes of fantasy and reality. They often encompass the whole page, surrounding the poem or poems, but sometimes are scattered around the page in vignettes. The pictures are more original than the poems, which range from short to overly long. Many of them resemble traditional Mother Goose rhymesa boy builds a house in a shoe, a trio of characters go to sea in an unlikely object and "There Was an Old Lady" is a thinly disguised Old Mother Hubbard . There are original and clever rhymes and even gentle lullabies; other entries are poems reminiscent of Sandburg or Milne. Fingerplays and games are included, and many poems seem influenced by street rhymes. Some poems are silly enough to amuse, yet others are pointless. Initially the inside looks bright and attractive, with an appealing format, but the collection will never compete with those by Silverstein or Prelutsky. Annette Curtis Klause, Montgomery County Libraries, Md.Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.