Yum! Yum!! Delicious Nursery Rhymes

A bustling farmer’s market serves as the backdrop for 13 familiar nursery rhymes, united here by a visual story line. First met as he takes leave of his wife and child in their homey kitchen, to the accompaniment of “This little piggy went to market,” a pig ambles through a quaint small town, past Little Tommy Tucker (who also plays the fiddle, the case open to receive coins from passersby), Little Jack Horner (a mouse who has patronized the nearby pie stand), and so forth. Fitzgerald (Dr. Kiss Says Yes ) embeds a wealth of detail: a calendar in the pigs’ house indicates that it’s August, timing matched by the produce shown for sale; Curds & Whey is the name of the cheese stand where a spider frightens a tiny mouse. The illustrations have the softness of pastels; the costumed, rounded animal characters’ skins look like velveteen, as if the cast were toys. Reinforced by the small, hand-size format, the effect is of a safe haven, a cozy and nostalgic corner scaled to young children. Ages 3-5. (Jan.)