John Langstaff (1920–2005)

More like an anthropologist or a folklorist is studying city children at play, than a 'Hey kids here's some fun things to do' guide. The heart-wrenching & joyful photos capture the souls of these happy, healthy, tough, grimy, creative, and ethnically diverse children.

Many of the rhymes & games I knew, many I didn't. If I ran a summer camp or an after-school program I would definitely use many ideas from here. It really is too bad that today's children spend so much time inside, hygienically show more playing video games, instead of in communities, learning to be strong & brave & cooperative & clever, all the while building up their immune systems. show less

Taking the words of the traditional English folk-song and Christmas carol, There Was a Pig Went Out To Dig as her text, illustrator Melissa Sweet delivers an engaging holiday picture-book, one that will have plenty of appeal for young animal lovers. Included by Lucy Broadwood in her 1893 collection, English County Songs, this carol follows a series of animals as they undertake all the traditional farming activities, pairing animal and task based on rhyme - a pig digs, a cow plows, a sparrow show more harrows, a crow sows, a sheep reaps, a drake rakes, and a minnow winnows - with everything occurring on Christmas day, in the morning.

With an informative foreword by John Langstaff, about the origins of the song, and the rural folk customs from which it most likely sprang, and colorful artwork, done in watercolor, gouache and collage by Melissa Sweet, On Christmas Day in the Morning is an appealing holiday title. I wasn't familiar with this song, before picking it up - I immediately thought of another Christmas carol, I Saw Three Ships, when I saw the title - and was pleased to expand my knowledge. I also appreciated the illustrator's note, about the meaning behind the motifs she used, in her decorative borders. There's not much of a story here, but for readers looking for picture-book presentations of Christmas carols and songs, it will still be a winner. show less

This is a fantastic way to introduce Gilbert and Sullivan to children. It's a very nice selection--sixteen songs from eight operettas--and the piano arrangements are impressive, neither too complicated for the average player nor too simplistic to convey the splendor of the compositions. The book is filled with beautiful pictures, imaginative and whimsical. This book is gold.

Because the text of this book is a song, it has a wonderful rhythm for reading aloud. Alternatively, you can sing it while turning the pages! Rojankovsky's illustrations have a lovely sketched quality which present charming pastoral scenes for each animal family without the animals becoming anthromorphized. This book also helps with learning the counting numbers 1-10, as the song progresses from the tortoise with one tortoise child to the rabbit with ten rabbit children. Cecelia loves to show more listen to and sing the song while following the illustrations in the book. show less