Old MacDonald Had a . . . Zoo?

July 15, 2017
Old MacDonald had a--kangaroo?!?It's just another day on the bespectacled white man's farm, starting with the milking of his cow and an E-I-E-I-O. But in the pig's sty, instead of an "oink oink" accompanying the E-I-E-I-O, there's a hopping kangaroo splattering mud everywhere. An elephant sprays Old MacDonald clean with water from the trough (with an E-I-E-I-O). Then..."Old MacDonald heard a crunch, E-I-E-I-O. / Zebras helped themselves to lunch, E-I-E-I-O. // With a chomp above, and a chomp below, / Here a chomp, there a chomp, / Everywhere a chomp chomp, / What a hungry, messy bunch, E-I-E-I-O." Then monkeys E-I-E-I-O in the henhouse, and a crocodile E-I-E-I-Os in the garden before Old MacDonald gets fed up. He bundles all the inappropriate animals into his truck and takes them back to the zoo with a vroom vroom and an E-I-E-I-O. Prolific nursery-rhymer Trapani turns the traditional song on its head for a rousing romp with some zoo escapees and some surprised farm denizens. Bright watercolor, acrylic, and ink illustrations, mostly in double-page spreads, are full of expressive animals. This update of the rhyme would be a fine addition to personal collections and will be welcome at storytime. A wild time on the MacDonald farm, with music included at the close. (Picture book. 3-7)

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