I sing a little mud song, / a puddle song, / a muddle song, / a no-shoes, toes-ooze, / slip-slap-and-thud song." This rhyme, with its lighthearted wordplay, revels in the sounds of a rainy day. Exuberant illustrations follow a girl and her dog as they go outside, play in the rain and the mud, and return home to wash up in the tub. (c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

This buoyant picture book begins with a girl slipping on her boots, raincoat, and hat; putting up her umbrella; and going outdoors on a rainy day. Joined by two high-spirited neighborhood children, her excited dog, and a happy little mouse, she begins quietly and gradually cuts loose, taking off her rain gear, dancing in the rain, squishing through puddles, and making mud pies. In three verses celebrating the rain, the mud, and the emerging sun, the text is playful, too. Besides suggesting the book's narrative, the words become the background music for the children's play. A typical line goes, I sing a little mud song, / a puddle song, / a muddle song, //a no-shoes, toes-ooze, / slip-slap-and-thud song. Bjorkman's jaunty ink-and-watercolor scenes capture the joyful, musical quality of the verse in the repeated curvy lines and dancy shapes of the children. As their play becomes wilder, the scenes become splattered with water and mud. A cheerful picture book to share on rainy days.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2010 Booklist

PreS-Gr 1-A little girl ventures out into the springtime weather accompanied by her dog. Gibson keeps it simple as the child sings a made-up song: "I sing a little rain song,/a simple song,/a plain song." The watercolor illustrations show gleeful youngsters and their pets cavorting in mud puddles until the sun shines, when they disperse. In the last scene, the protagonist enjoys a bubble bath in an overflowing tub. Children will play with the rhyming words, just as Gibson does-"oochy sploochy woochy woosh"-and perhaps make up their words for a story.-Keisha M. Miller, South Orange Public Library, NJ (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Around the World on Eighty Legs, illustrated by Daniel Salmieri, 2011) is an onomatopoetic praise song to rain and mud. With a gentle spring rain falling outside, a little girl and her dog (and the mouse in their house) head out for an afternoon of messy wet fun, joining a couple of neighbors who are already frolicking. Togged out in rain jackets and boots and carrying umbrellas, the trio soon discards all to fully enjoy the experience. Jumping in puddles quickly turns to squishing mud between bare toes and, finally, to a watery mudslide involving their entire bodies. No doubt readers will relate to the fun depicted in the pictures, but it is Gibson's language play that makes this such a grand read-aloud: "Splish / sploosh, / squash / squoosh, // oochy sploochy woochy woosh!" Bjrkman uses a spring palette in watercolors that are filled with splashes, splooshes and lots of splatters and smiles. But his characters look older than they should be for this type of rainy day funespecially considering the wet and tremendously muddy trail the girl leaves from the front door to the bathtub. Still, the antics of the two dogs and the adorable mouse that mimics the children's cavorting are sure to keep kids' attention. Good sloshy fun. (Picture book. 3-6)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.