Young readers will fall in love all over again with Dennis Lee's light-hearted verse, which embraces universal childhood experiences of every flavour, from digging holes to foreign lands to searching for the perfect pet. David McPhail's gorgeous watercolour paintings capture Lee's subtle celebration of multiculturalism and offer a colourful feast for the eye.
Oh, the kids around the block are like an Ice cream store,
'Cause there's chocolate and vanilla,
And there's maple and there's more...
August 31, 1992
Lee ( Alligator Pie ; Fraggle Rock ) and McPhail (the Emma books; the Pig Pig books) have devised an inventive, energetic and delightfully wacky book of poems that compares with Prelutsky and Silverstein for off-the-wall humor and child-pleasing nonsense. McPhail's whimsical ``kids around the block'' (from the book's title poem) are all the colors of ice cream, and they are joined by a plethora of animals--a dog named Doogie who likes to boogie; Hammy, the escape hamster; an endearing flying pig named Lucy; even a dadosaurous who dries the dishes. No subject is off limits--from ``A Home Like a Hiccup'' to ``The Fib'' or ``Mrs. Mitchell's Underwear.'' Lee's rhythmical poems beg to be sung, while McPhail's characters are a constant surprise. Both text and art feature children in costumes from all over the real world as well as from the imaginary one. Like the kids in the last poem, ``Night Song,'' this rollicking book belongs ``Around the block, / Around the world.'' All ages.