OVER IN THE MEADOW

A familiar counting song gets new life in illustrator Strange’s picture book.

In a meadow, an assortment of animal mothers tend to their young. The turtle cares for one youngster; the fish in the stream has two. Each mother teaches her young ones a skill they need, so frogs learn to jump, spiders spin, and deer run. Finally, a fox ushers her 10 little kits to sleep. In the traditional song, each verse features an old mother, but this version uses a different adjective in each verse, celebrating traits that mothers share, such as wisdom, love, intelligence, and gentleness: “Over in the meadow in a nest built of sticks, / Lives a gentle mother goose and her little babies 6.” Strange’s illustrations elevate an already strong rhyme, with gentle watercolor-and-ink images that depict a vibrant world of animal families. The mothers and their babies are realistic looking and endearing; even the spider mama, nestled with her young among raspberries, has charm. Clean, blank backgrounds on most pages contrast with gorgeous meadow imagery on others. Lap readers will enjoy counting to make sure there are the right number of babies on each spread, and parents will fall into the poetry’s rhythm, whether reading aloud or singing along with included sheet music.

A soothing musical update with plenty to dazzle the eye.