Overview
In this clever reworking of the classic folk song “Over in the Meadow,” readers meet villagers who spent their day spinning, cleaning, cooking, dancing, and more. The text counts up from one baby dragon to ten court jesters, and kids will enjoy counting along with each of the characters as they go about their daily work. At the end of the day, all the villagers look out their windows for a special surprise from their dragon neighbors. Readers will pore over illustrations filled with the same unexpected, warm humor of Boni Ashburn and Kelly Murphy’s first book, Hush, Little Dragon.
Synopsis
In this clever reworking of the classic folk song “Over in the Meadow,” readers meet villagers who spent their day spinning, cleaning, cooking, dancing, and more. The text counts up from one baby dragon to ten court jesters, and kids will enjoy counting along with each of the characters as they go about their daily work. At the end of the day, all the villagers look out their windows for a special surprise from their dragon neighbors. Readers will pore over illustrations filled with the same unexpected, warm humor of Boni Ashburn and Kelly Murphy’s first book, Hush, Little Dragon.
Publishers Weekly
The dragons from Hush, Little Dragon are back with a new twist on a familiar rhyme. Instead of “Over in the Meadow,” the scene is set in a castle, and readers are encouraged to count servants, guards, weavers, and even a prisoner in the dungeon. Ashburn twice interrupts the counting with a couplet about a waiting baby dragon (“ 'Now?' begs little dragon. 'Not yet!' says his mother”). At the end of the day, the dragons present a surprise display of flames and fireworks. Murphy's sun-drenched illustrations, featuring gentle humor and child-oriented characters, beget a fanciful medieval world. Ages 3-6. (Mar.)