From School Library Journal
Starred Review. PreSchool-Grade 2—Voake reveals the dainty signs of spring in watercolor and ink illustrations that accompany the traditional folk song, "The Green Grass Grew All Around." Alert squirrels watch a straw-hatted girl with a younger boy and a black cat as they stroll around and picnic under "the finest tree you ever did see." While this crew interacts, a spotty-breasted mother bird hatches, then feeds her offspring. The song's music and lyrics fill the end pages. Voake's light touch and array of green shades convey the very breezes of the day, where just stretching one's arms to mimic tree branches brings on a smile. Prepare, also, to be enchanted by three blue eggs with white dots that become a trio of singers who wrap up the tale with a final "Tweedle-Dee-Dee!" The large spreads will ensure successful storytime sharing, even if you're not a singer.—
Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Voake creates her own picture-book version of the traditional cumulative folk song “The Green Grass Grew Around,” featuring rhyming verses in which “The birds were in the eggs, the eggs were in the nest, the nest was on the branch, the branch was on the tree,” and so on. Oversize double-page spreads offer plenty of scope for Voake’s loose, lyrical ink drawings, washed with watercolors in muted greens and tans with touches of blue. Created with apparent spontaneity and grace, the appealing pictures show a boy, a girl, and their cat picnicking beside a large tree where a pair of squirrels cavort and three birds in a nest hatch, and the air is soon filled with their song. Music is provided on the back endpaper; the verses can be sung, making this a lovely addition to spring and summer storytimes. Preschool-Grade 2. --Carolyn Phelan
