RHYMOCEROS

A rhyming rhinoceros composes a most amusing doggerel.

This large board book explores a variety of rhymes with a quirky rhino along for the ride. The big guy stands at the center of each page, rarely moving but always engaging little ones with his attitude and poise. The author isn't afraid to shake up the rhino's composure: some pages find him tossed in the trash (“stinky”), covered with marker scribbles (“inky”), or coated in solid gold (“gold,” paired with a depiction of the rhino wearing glasses, carrying a cane, and sporting wrinkles: “old”). While there's no narrative to provide a storyline, there is plenty to enjoy in Coat's straightforward approach. Each couplet is presented with simplicity, words appearing beneath the illustration of the titular beast and provoking different sounds and ideas each time. A few of the pages have a tactile component (“bumpy”; “furry”; “mossy”), rendering the rhinoceros in different textures and encouraging little hands to reach out and touch.

Charmingly simple.