Over at the Castle

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.)