Hey Diddle Diddle

December 1, 2011

PreS-Gr 3-The jacket flap invites readers to "sing along" but they might have a difficult time settling on a tune as they slog their way through the awkward and stilted rhymes. The text, paired with serviceable, clear illustrations, follows three food chains in and around a pond. The anthropomorphic animals can be slightly disturbing as readers have a chance to get to know them a little just before they are gulped down. This is particularly true when the bass and the frog have a disagreement just before the frog becomes a meal. To make matters worse, the frog's horrified friends watch the whole thing from the safety of a lily pad. Animal facts are included in the text, sometimes as non sequiturs, and they do nothing to help the rhyme scheme. "He snatched that snake right off the ground./Gobbled him up without a sound/and sang, 'Hey diddle diddle-I don't ask why/I've got feathers to help me fly.'" Unfortunately, while making an appearance at the top of a food chain, a bobcat is described as sneaky and sly, giving her negative qualities she doesn't deserve; she is just hungry after all. Forced and kind of creepy, this book isn't the best choice for the topic.-Heather Acerro, Rochester Public Library, MN

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2012
Rhymed text provides examples of three chains in a riparian food web. The verse, spoken by each creature (gratuitously and randomly dropping gs and adding as: "a hissin and a grinnin'") is forced as it attempts to provide small, random tidbits about animal behavior. Illustrations that look slightly out of focus show animal bodies and human facial expressions. Learning activities are appended.

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 15, 2011

Kapchinske's picture-book debut is a fact-toting trip through several food chains.

After a snack of a little green beetle, a snake slithers along: "He sang, 'Hey diddle diddle—I'm feelin' fine. / Call me cold-blooded, but I've got a spine.' / A hawk looked down a tweetin' a tune / and said, 'I'd like some breakfast soon.' " The second food chain consists of a frog and a bass, while the last begins with a caterpillar that is eaten by a lizard and ends with a bobcat. The forced incorporation of so many facts comes off as didactic at times, although they will serve to teach readers about the various species. While the verses sometimes falter in their rhythms, which are based loosely on the titular nursery rhyme, the beat is nonetheless rollicking and will likely have readers and listeners alike tapping their toes. Extensive backmatter includes more information and questions that will deepen children's understanding of food chains and animal classification and adaptations. Rogers' digitally illustrated animals are slightly cartoonish with too-bright colors and anthropomorphized expressions and body language. Most offputting, this injects human emotions into what is a natural cycle in the animal world.

In a niche that includes elegant, realistic and natural offerings, this is cute. (Informational picture book. 4-7)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)