GIRLS AND BOYS COME OUT TO PLAY

Who wouldn’t want to gallivant with Mother Goose?

Chanting the classic nursery rhyme “Girls and Boys Come Out To Play,” that esteemed avian invites a bevy of kids from a city neighborhood to leave their homes and join her for an evening of merriment. The racially diverse, pajama-clad, stuffed-animal–toting children eagerly accept the invitation, accompanied by some dogs and cats. Whom do these adventurers meet on their nighttime jaunt? Why, none other than some of Mother Goose’s most famous characters, including Old King Cole, Humpty Dumpty, Jack and Jill, the fiddling cat from “Hey Diddle Diddle,” and the three men in the tub. After some playtime and a filling repast they help prepare, the kids are more than ready for Mother Goose to lead them home to bed; the exhausted, happy wanderers are last seen all comfortably tucked in, live and toy pets in tow. Text is kept to a minimum on spreads, and the old-fashioned language of the brief narrative is charming. The cheery, bouncy text of the rhyme could turn out to become a favorite of young readers/listeners sitting in laps or hearing this in group sessions. The loose pen-and-ink–and-watercolor illustrations suit the action well, suggesting energetic movement and lighthearted activity. A “cast of characters” is identified at the beginning of the book. Front and rear endpapers each include eight well-known Mother Goose rhymes. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at 64% of actual size.)

An engaging, lively addition to the Mother Goose canon.