Pease Porridge Hot — Paige Billin-Frye

PreS—Each of these books includes activities and a page describing the Benefits of Nursery Rhymes and Activity Songs. The first selection is mundane compared to Rosemary Wells's charming board book (Scholastic, 2006). The bear climbs up the mountain, looks around, starts down the other side, trips and falls, and at the bottom shrugs his shoulders. Wells's little bear gathers flowers along the way and at the end gives them to his mother, shouting, Hooray! There are more appealing versions of The Farmer in the Dell, including the one illustrated by Ilse Plume (Godine, 2004), which takes place in a Pennsylvania Dutch community. There are seven verses in London Bridge. The well-executed art has a dark aspect to it with the animals looking more malevolent than harmless, especially the crow. Pease Porridge Hot is sweetly illustrated in pastel colors and depicts a little girl feeding her dolls and stuffed animals. Overall, these are additional purchases for larger collections with gaps to be filled.—Elaine Lesh Morgan, formerly at Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR