Review by Booklist Review
This begins with the familia. Hey diddle diddle, the cat plays the fiddle. but the cow, instead of jumping over the moon, joins in on a silver trombone. And that's not all. Hey diddle dum, the whale bangs the drum, the seal's on the big saxophone. The instrument-playing animals come together under the direction of a baton-wielding dog, when suddenly the focus shifts. A child appears, and we see that the players are miniatures in a music box that the child winds up with a key. Brightly colored, spacious acrylic illustrations feature one animal and instrument per double-page spread and build to a nice crescendo with the appearance of the canine maestro. The arrival of the child and the realization that the group is encased in a box is a tad jarring, but the fantasy of having such a group of musicians at your disposal should assuage any feeling of disappointment. Check out Peggy Perry Anderson's Chuck's Band (2008) or Jill Newton's Crash Bang Donkey! (2010), both of which feature groups of instrument-playing animals.--Enos, Randal. Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Starting with the first line of the well-known nursery rhyme, this story introduces a group of animals that play musical instruments. At the beginning of the book, they appear to have only one fan-a bluebird that follows them from page to page, until a boy shows up on the scene. His interaction with the band comes as a surprise, but he holds the key to an important secret about the animals. Variations of the phrase "Hey diddle diddle" appear throughout; for example, "Hey diddle dumpet,/the camel blows trumpet" and "Hey diddle darp, the mouse plays the harp." Rendered in acrylics, the lively cartoon illustrations appear against vivid backgrounds of purple, yellow, blue, and pink. While the pig and camel are dressed up, the seal and whale look more natural. Catchy rhymes encourage children to imagine the different sounds these instruments make and to appreciate what happens when the dog strikes up the band.-Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake Public Library, AB, Canada (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Apparently the cat isn't the only musical prodigy: Bunting has altered the classic nursery rhyme to include a lion flutist, a cow trombonist, a whale drummer, and so on ("Hey diddle dar, / the horse strums guitar, / the pig plays piano with grace..."). Fraser's acrylics reflect the menagerie's musical prowess and enhance the surprise ending's payoff. (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
(Picture book. 2-5)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
