A good book to introduce rhyming.

Look, I love all Boynton's books, but this is a special favorite. Grab it, read it. ( )

Lots of fun, rhyming silliness! ( )

Pretty funny story yet it reminds me of "Eleanor Rigby"; all the lonely people; where do they all come from? ( )

Nice rhymes and rhythms, but the plot normalizes leaving some kids out of fun times (a fat quiet hippo, a hardened yellow armadillo). The lessons seem to be (a) insert yourself where you haven't been invited, and (b) you don't need to be kind or make overtures or keep an eye out for the kids on the sidelines who may be intimidated to join in. A read-aloud with over-the-top histrionics might even encourage laughing at kids who have a history of being excluded and are upset by it. Yuck. There exist much better lessons on handling shyness and alienation and loneliness. ( )