cover image If You're Happy and You Know It

If You're Happy and You Know It

Nicki Weiss, Monica J. Weiss. Greenwillow Books, $17 (40pp) ISBN 978-0-688-06444-0

""Do Your Ears Hang Low?'' ``Kookaburra,'' ``Where Has My Little Dog Gone?'' ``Hush, Little Baby,'' ``This Old Man'' and ``A-Tisket, A-Tasket'' are some of the 18 songs set to picture by the creator of Princess Pearl and A Family Story. The lettering and the scores are all hand-done, perfectly clear for humming alone, but not as easy for simple piano accompaniment some of the bars aren't presented conventionally, as on a sheet of music, and are sometimes even upside down. This whimsical touch doesn't hamper the exuberance of Weiss's characters, who dance, prance, stomp, clap and all but samba to the tunes herein. Since all the songs are stories, as in ``Roll Over, Roll Over'' (``There were ten in the bed and the little one said . . .''), the pictures follow the action, with lively and funny commentary among the small folk. For this joyful collection, singing on-key is not a prerequisite to joining in on the choruses. Ages 5-8. (October)