Beneath a Blue Umbrella

Like their previous Ride a Purple Pelican , this large-size 64-page collection contains a miscellany of gaily illustrated rhymes that trip lightly on the tongue. Interspersed among such silly characters as Anna Banana, Upside-down Roy or Jennifer Juniper are poems about animals, including a melon-swallowing hippo, a bobolink that marries a frog, and Patter Pitter Caterpillar. With characteristic style and slapdash verve, Prelutsky's verses celebrate creatures across the country, from the Iowa farmer who is plagued by crows to the puppies who steal pretzels in Philadelphia. Prelutsky's humor and pleasantly quirky view of the world are well matched by Williams's full-page lively illustrations that heighten the book's boisterous fun. Ages 4-up. (Apr.)