Rufus and Friends: School Days

February 8, 2010
The kid appeal is easy to see in this follow-up to Rufus and Friends: Rhyme Time
. Fourteen jaunty poems focus on Rufus and his classmates at school. The poems are built on traditional rhymes like “The Ants Go Marching,” but with embellishments (“They march in step, in perfect rows,/ The little one stops to pick her nose”). Trapani’s canine students are lovable and expressive: a mop dog’s eyes are obscured by fur, a beefy brown dog drools, and a black poodle bares her pointy canines, acting “horrid.” A quiz lets readers find objects hidden in the pictures. Ages 4–7.