A Nickel Buys a Rhyme

A collection of short poems, including "Mud Pies a Penny," "Let's Count the Raindrops," and "Zoo's Who"

Grade 1-3--A Nickel Buys a Rhyme but no one should fork over any money for these 30 original rhymes. The language is bland, the action is predictable, and the rhythm singsong. The watercolor illustrations are equally undistinguished. There is a "generic character" for each of the subjects drawn: all the alligators look alike, as do the mice, and the boys and girls' faces seem like copies of one another that stare listlessly out from the page. Pass on this one. --Barbara Peklo Abrahams, Oneida City Schools, Manlius, NY
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

There is an agreeably old-fashioned air to some of these rhymed and rhythmical poems, in which a mother "bakes a pudding, / warm and sweet" or tucks her child in bed with a lullaby that ends, "Safe in your bed / with nothing to fear, / God's in His heaven, / and Mama is here." More suitable for preschoolers than for older children, the poems are alternately dreamy and funny, silly and sly, and feature boys who dream of riding rocket ships and girls who talk about having picnics with "just you and your teddy, / my dolly and me." Schmidt's ( You Be Good & I'll Be Night ) clever, exuberant watercolors lend substance and humor to the brief, sometimes sentimental verses. The comical naughtiness of "Helen Hipsway / did a dance, / wiggled so much / she lost her pants," for example, is underscored by an insouciant alligator heroine who loses her red drawers to reveal lacy, heart-decked underpants as two prudish alligators look on. Frequently suggesting the silliness of Ogden Nash, this lighthearted collection scores high marks. Ages 4-up.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

``Rhyme Time'': ``Grouches grumble./Gymnasts tumble./Cookies crumble./Bees bumble./...Do you have any/ rhymes for umble?'' Contagiously rhythmic and deliciously funny, these 30 poems are precisely tuned to the concerns of preschoolers and their primary sibs, who'll also enjoy reading them aloud. In Schmidt's lively, good-natured illustrations, the appealing characters may be human or animal; in the family where ``Mama's in the kitchen/bakin' pies'' while ``Sister's with her boyfriend/sighin' sighs [and] Brother's on the corner tellin' lies,'' they're alligators. Food is frequently a subject, as are friends; faults or conflicts are defused in amusing descriptions (``There's just one thing/I will not share...''), and the collection winds up appropriately with the pleasures of reading, bedtime, and sweet dreams of flight-- and the future. An inviting book to share. (Poetry/Picture book. 3-8) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.