CLINK, CLANK, CLUNK!
by Miriam Aroner & illustrated by Dominic Catalano
A catastrophic clunker of a car stars in this jovial, cumulative tale. It’s a lovely day; Rabbit decides to take a spin into town. Along the way, an increasing company of friends joins him: squirrel, mole, porcupine, skunk. With each new passenger, Rabbit’s junker offers a protest: It sizzles; it belches smoke; it sheds parts; finally, it gives up the ghost. Sweat not, Rabbit—what are friends for but to give a push? Catalano’s pastels are alive, warmly unctuous and can set a scene: a double-page spread with a text-box on one side and a spot of Rabbit describing the latest calamity on the other. He’s a poet, of sorts, too. Some rhymes are obvious and will be fun for the quite young, but there are also some off-beat syncopations—sometimes working internally, sometimes slipping a line or two before nailing the corresponding sounds—that will bring pleasure to more sophisticated readers. Best are the various boings, fizzles, squeaks and thunks that emanate from the “hunk-o-junk.” A terrific traveling companion for John Burningham’s Mr. Gumpy’s Outing (1971). (Picture book. 2-6)