About the Author

Lisa Shulman is the author of several picture books, includingThe Matzo Ball Boy and The Moon Might Be Milk. Shelives in Northern California with her husband, twin daughters, and the world's friendliest dog and cat.

Ashley Wolff is the author and/or illustrator of over 55 children's picture books includingI Love My Mommy Becauseand I Love My Daddy Because, Stella and Roy Go Camping, Me Baby, You Baby, The Wild Little Horse, Who Took the Cookies from the Cookie Jar?, I Call My Grandma Nanaand the belovedMiss Bindergarten Series.Her books have won numerous state and national awards.

Reviews

This delightful twist on the classic song (with loads of fun sound effects) is a must for do-it-yourself children. (School Library Journal, starred review)

A terrific idea measured and mitered to a tee, building a perfectly crafted book. (Kirkus Reviews)

This delightful twist on the classic song (with loads of fun sound effects) is a must for do-it-yourself children. (School Library Journal, starred review)

A terrific idea measured and mitered to a tee, building a perfectly crafted book. (Kirkus Reviews)

This fun twist on a familiar song envisions Old MacDonald as a capable, bespectacled sheep, who's busy building something "in her shop." One by one her animal friends and neighbors drop by and take up various tools a hammer ("with a tap tap here/ and a tap tap there"), a file ("with a scritch scratch here/ and a scritch scratch there") and so on and join in on the project. Soon, the whole barnyard is busily employed until the very end when Old MacDonald unveils a scale replica masterpiece of their very own home ("and in her shop she had a farm!"). Preschoolers will want to join in the bouncy cadences and alliterative sounds of Shulman's version of the cumulative rhyme. Wolff's (the Miss Bindergarten books) bright gouache and pastel illustrations drop subtle hints to the project in process. Soft shading ratchets up the cozy factor, while such touches as gold hoop earrings and a floral apron for Old MacDonald, a chicken picking apples from a tree and a very tidy mouse who sweeps up wood shavings at the bottom of each page add character to the barnyard as well as pizzazz. Endpapers designed as a pegboard neatly display (and label) the tools used within the book (and more). Ages 2-6. (Sept.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.