Pop! goes the nursery rhyme

Bird (The Great Santa Stakeout) and Tsurumi (There's No Such Thing as Vegetables) imagine the giggly-good havoc wrought by ending myriad nursery rhymes with "POP! Goes the Weasel." The story's canon-tweaking mischief-maker--introduced in the book's first featured rhyme--is a weasel in pink overalls who leaps into the framing of each classic final line, generally with arms and legs akimbo. Countering the repeated action with protests, a pearl-clutching secretary bird desperately tries to maintain decorum ("Oh my goodness, no, no, no. There are no weasels with Jack and Jill"), leading to a final scenario that employs jack-in-the-box tension. Throughout, the characters are elaborately choreographed: Mary, of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" fame, appears as a well-heeled but spunky mutton matron, the little lamb as her cosseted, coolly confident charge. Gaily upsetting the proverbial apple cart again and again, the creators craft a raucous celebration of rule- breaking that will have young readers eagerly anticipating each rhyme's incoming "POP!" An author's note concludes. Ages 3--5. Author's agent: Stephen Barbara, InkWell Management. Illustrator's agent: Stephen Barr, Writers House. (Mar.)

Mother Goose ditties are upended by a frenetic weasel. The digital compositions accompanying each verse unfold on a double spread. Mary (an adult sheep) and her ever-present lamb ride a bicycle in tandem; Jack and Jill--a fox and a coatimundi--race up a hill of sand castles. Every final line ("The lamb was sure to…" "And Jill went…") is completed--and transformed--after a page turn, as the antagonist bursts onto the scene with a "POP! GOES THE WEASEL." A secretary bird (perhaps a nod to the author's last name) appears on the title page; much like other protagonists of recent interrupting stories, this character can tolerate only so many intrusions. The bird comments on and corrects the wily behavior. After the weasel pops into the gym, where a buff, rodent Miss Muffet drops her dumbbells and bowl, the bird asserts: "GAK! Curdled curds everywhere! Wasted whey! Why, why, why?" Tsurumi employs a pastel palette and cartoon conventions--motion lines, flying objects in diagonal formations, and constantly changing facial expressions--for comic effect. The final scenario ("One, Two, Buckle My Shoe") stretches out for several quiet pages, deftly building suspense toward the anticipated outcome. While the physical comedy will make for an intensely funny read-aloud, the book will be best appreciated by children who have absorbed the original rhymes and are in on the changes. Catnip for adults who like to perform their picture books to giggles and guffaws. (author's note)(Picture book. 3-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.