Outside Inn (Orchard Paperbacks)

Four imaginative children hold a banquet and serve creepy-crawly snacks in a mud puddle they call the Outside Inn

PreSchool-Grade 2-- This clumsy little poem enhanced by glorious illustrations will gather groans, gags, and giggles from young audiences. Lyon's text seems to have been inspired by the phrase "What's for snack? Slugs in a sack." She goes on to try to fill out the day with rhyme and slime. The rhyme in the words "breakfast" and "ketchup" is a bit elusive; "puddle ink" and "drink," or "mud-pie thinner" and "dinner" work better, but what are they really? Young listeners, however, won't mind these textual flaws as they respond enthusiastically to each course. The watercolor paintings are truly marvelous as they depict a multiethnic quartet of boys and girls spending a beautiful day by a pond expanding on mud-pie possibilities. After the full meal at The Outside Inn , the children return home, leaving behind tasty morsels for the wildlife that prefer such stuff. Rosenberry gives creepy crawlies an integrity that is tantalizing if not tasty. Even the endpapers celebrate the beauty of insects, slugs, and worms. While the book is fine as a rousing, reactive read-aloud, quiet time with each illustration is most rewarding. --Jody McCoy, Casady School, Oklahoma City
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