Rhyme Time: Around the Day

This lively, fun-soaked collection of modern poems is arranged around the child's day. It is divided in six sections, which start with waking up, sweep through school, shopping, teatime, and playtime, and end with bedtime. Many of the 46 poems have been commissioned specifically for this anthology. Playful verses address such important events as bubble baths, birthday parties, finger painting, and somersaults. Humorous rhymes give answers to questions like "what's in the bath?" and the often-asked "what's in the dark?" A lot of the poems salivate about kids' favorite meals, from pancakes and scrambled eggs to chips and cakes. Dozens of full-page, full-color drawings bring the poems to children's imagination. Make time for Rhyme Time! Read more Continue reading Read less FROM PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Around the Day, also ed. by Foster, illus. by Carol Thompson, also covers a day's experience with 40-plus poems about everything from waking up to schooltime, shopping, playtime, teatime (these are British poets, after all) and bedtime. Thompson uses blocks of saturated color, vignettes and fine lines to accentuate the mood, for instance, of John Foster's "The Morning Rush," in which he highlights a quick gobbling of cereal and a glimpse of a book bag as the child exits for school. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

FROM SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
PreSchool-Grade 3-A charming, upbeat collection of rhymes. Divided into six sections-"Time to Get Up," "Time for School," "Time for Shopping," "Time for Play," "Time for Tea," and "Time for Bed"-the selections address universal childhood concerns from scrambled eggs, finger paints, and supermarkets to birthday parties and bath time. The book has a decidedly British flair; a few poems discuss the cost of things in pence and pounds; in the supermarket, trolleys are the thing; and everyone always has time for tea. A variety of British writers appear, including such luminaries as Shirley Hughes, Jill Townsend, and Lucy Coats. Many of these poems were written specifically for this collection. The rhymes and rhythms, as well as the messages, will appeal especially to the intended audience. Cheerful watercolor illustrations range from splashes of color on small decorative figures to swaths of sometimes overlapping colors that saturate the page. The multicultural cast of children and parents depicted are in constant motion as they celebrate a day filled with rhyme.
Jane Marino, Scarsdale Public Library, NY
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. FROM BOOKLIST
Ages 2-5. With a bouncing beat and a physical immediacy, these simple rhymes by 35 poets take a small child through the day, from "The Morning Rush" and "Scrambled Eggs" to school, shopping, playing, bath, and bed. The line-and-watercolor pictures are as lively as the words, full of mess, mud, and lots of food and fun. The anthology was originally published in England, so a few words have different meanings than kids here are used to, especially words about food (chips, biscuits, flapjacks, squash) and clothes (vest, jumper) .But young children and the grown-ups who read to them won't mind. As with nursery rhymes, the pleasure is the nonsense, the slapstick action, and the chanting sounds of the words. Hazel Rochman
Copyright American Library Association. All rights reserved ABOUT THE AUTHOR
John Foster is the well-known compiler and editor of more than two dozen anthologies of children's poetry, most recently My First Oxford Book of Poems and Pet Poems. Carol Thompson has illustrated many children's books, including Counting Rhymes, Chanting Rhymes, and Finger Rhymes, all edited by John Foster. Read more Continue reading Read less