You won't be able to resist acting out these dozens of rhymes and games for very young children - an endearing, annotated collection sure to become a family heirloom. Open this delightful anthology of more than sixty lap songs, clapping games, and action rhymes and discover the perfect book for babies and toddlers - and their grateful parents and caregivers. Featuring familiar favorites such as "Goosey, Goosey, Gander" and "I'm a Little Teapot" as well as lesser-known rhymes like "Harry Whistle" and "In Went the Prairie Dog," this comprehensive collection includes directions for play, historical tidbits, and fourteen simple musical arrangements for piano and guitar. Masterfully selected and edited by Jane Yolen, whom NEWSWEEK calls "America's Hans Christian Andersen," THIS LITTLE PIGGY is lavishly illustrated in charming detail by Will Hillenbrand. The bonus CD contains fifteen minutes of lively music and vocals, based on Adam Stemple's original arrangements, including "Dance to Your Daddy", "I'm a Little Teapot," and many others. Starred Review. PreS–A beautifully crafted, oversized anthology of approximately 60 lap rhymes, songs, clapping rhymes, and finger and foot rhymes, all presented with explanations and simple instructions for parents to play with their babies and toddlers. Most are familiar, but there are also a few that are less well known. Hillenbrand has framed the rhymes with lovely mixed-media pictures in an array of sherbet pastel colors with happy piggy families acting out the rhymes. The songs include simple musical arrangements for guitar and piano. A delightful accompanying CD includes 13 songs from the text, beautifully done with vivacious accompaniment. The result is a perfect book for one-on-one sharing–a feast for the eyes and the ears–as well as a wonderful compendium of first rhymes for the very young. A special selection that all new parents and grandparents will want to read again and again. –Judith Constantinides, formerly at East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. *Starred Review* PreS. Collections of children's rhymes and songs, lap games and finger plays, are in no short supply--Marc Brown's compilations of the 1980s and Zita Newcome's Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes (2003) represent just a few of the many in print--but this assured presentation by Yolen, who charmingly notes that "the lap is a kind of schoolroom," is likely to emerge as the most authoritative. Many of the entries in Yolen's much briefer Lap Time Song and Play (1989) are duplicated here, but this boasts a broader scope (more than 60 interactive chants, rhymes, and songs) and a gorgeously crafted package, similar to Iona Opie and Rosemary Wells' Mother Goose Library. Annotations about each poem's provenance and instructions to parents appear in smaller type, while the poems themselves, arrayed with Hillenbrand's zestful, pig-themed illustrations, squarely target children. The selections range from the tried-and-true, such as "Eensy Weensy Spider," to the rarely seen, such as "A Gentleman of Wales," although some in the latter category, rich in early English colloquialisms and less-than-infectious rhythms, seem of more historical than practical interest. But given the collection's broad scope, families will inevitably emerge with new playtime standbys, and its many aesthetic rewards offer ample motivation to keep turning the pages. An accompanying CD provides jaunty interpretations of Stemple's piano-and-guitar arrangements for the songs. Jennifer Mattson Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Discover the perfect book for babies and toddlers. You won’t be able to resist acting out these dozens of rhymes and games. An endearing, annotated collection sure to become a family heirloom. WILL HILLENBRAND is the award-winning illustrator of KISS THE COW! by Phyllis Root, THE BIGGEST, BEST SNOWMAN, and PLEASE SAY PLEASE by Margery Cuyler, and the author-illustrator of DOWN BY THE STATION. JANE YOLEN has played many of these games with her three children and six grandchildren. She is the author of more than 250 books for children and young adults, including the Caldecott-winning OWL MOON and the NEW YORK TIMES bestselling HOW DO DINOSAURS SAY GOODNIGHT? END Used Book in Good Condition