Marc Brown's Playtime Rhymes: A Treasury for Families to Learn and Play Together

Brown’s Finger Rhymes (rev. 4/81) came out in 1980, with a colorful cover and black-and-white illustrations. Now Brown has taken some of the rhymes from that and subsequent books and re-illustrated them to create one very appealing collection. Most of the rhymes and songs will be familiar to many parents and children, such as “The Itsy Bitsy Spider,” “The Wheels on the Bus,” and “I’m a Little Teapot.” Others, like “The Snowman” (“Roll him and roll him until he is big, / Roll him until he is fat as a pig”) will bring new pleasures. Little boxes alongside the lines of each rhyme illustrate the finger gestures. The boxes and the drawings inside are the same as previous editions, but larger and clearer. Brown’s gouache and colored-pencil illustrations jump with joyful energy, with lots of little jokes for children to spot amongst the many kids, dogs, and other animals that appear. A must-purchase for storytimes, this is also a great gift book that will help parents remember their own childhood rhymes. susan dove lempke