A Little Bitty Man and Other Poems for the Very Young

Delivered with a nursery rhyme lilt, this collection of poems from the late Rasmussen is characterized by a whimsical and gently irreverent perspective. "You can pat my goldfish's hair/ for an apple/ that's polished just right," offers the owner of a lion sleeping with one eye open. "But if you want/ to pat my lion,/ just promise/ you'll pat it real light!" When a sheepish little cloud goes for a walk and can't hold it anymore, it "Let it drip down on the road,/ knew that it was naughty," as two children in rubber boots observe from the ground below. Hawkes's acrylic and charcoal illustrations%E2%80%94from the diminutive couple who live in "Littlebittyland" to a "strange old owl" perched at his writing desk%E2%80%94echo Rasmussen's joyful, quirky spirit. Ages 2%E2%80%936. (Aug.)