ANIMAL FAIR

Expanded from the traditional three-liner used more in modern times as a nursery rhyme than a song, Goembel adds to the animal hijinks by taking the nonsense lyrics and using her bright ink-and–acrylic wash illustrations to provide a unifying narrative. The animals at this fair are focused on their performances, unaware of the mischievous monkey’s tricks. The seals sing and blow up pink balloons, at least one of which sails across each successive double-page spread, while monkey lurks, entertaining himself by tying one on father kangaroo’s tail or waiting for the bears, who are descending the stairs “while juggling purple pears,” to slip on a well-placed banana peel. The monkey is everywhere, the clean compositions just busy enough to provide the right level of challenge for toddlers to spot the tricky simian. But if there is ever any confusion in readers’ minds as to why he gets his comeuppance, the illustrations more than explain why “the elephant sneezed and fell on his knees,” shooting the still-grinning monkey high into the air and far away from the fair. A pleasant rollick. (Picture book. 1-3)