cover image Read - A - Rebus

Read - A - Rebus

William H. Hooks, Joanne F. Oppenheim, Bank Street College. Random House Books for Young Readers, $1.95 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-394-85833-3

The authors, from the Bank Street College of Education in Manhattan, include a note to parents on how to use this book with a child. But with Munsinger's jubilant animals, clever word-pictures and inquisitive children, the book almost reads itself. An opening poem features simple rhyming pairs (hammer, nail/shovel, pail), and most youngsters will be able to supply the word that rhymes immediatelyand feel as though they're composing the verse. There are stories, about a baby bear at a fair, an animal counting picnic and a simple good-night poem. Just as the most confusing rebus is one that tries too hard to make sense and fails, the most successful one leaves readers wishing for more. By that measure, this book is far too short. (36)