Rufus and Friends: Rhyme Time

by: Iza Trapani

Published by: Charlesbridge Publishing

Reviewed by Jamie Driggers

Nursery rhymes are a staple in childhood. Who didn’t grow up without at least a little Mother Goose chanted at them? My 66-year-old mother still whips out two or three every time I visit and I know I’ve taken up the tradition with my own children.

Iza Trapani took fourteen of those classical nursery rhymes, extended them and illustrated them in her well-known style, giving us Rufus and Friends: Rhyme Time. Rufus, Lulu, Tucker, Stella and Mops “act out” Peter Piper, Handy Spandy, Wee Willie Winkie and other familiar rhymes in their bright, squeezable, and immediately familiar “Trapani-ness.”

Story time will be fun with these rhymes and tongue twisters and you’ll probably find yourself trying to figure out where Mother Goose stops and author Trapani begins. Meanwhile, children can pass the time trying to find the hidden objects in the illustrations as they listen and giggle while you stumble over your tongue. This read-aloud doesn’t have quite the ease of Trapani’s I’m a Little Teapot but my little readers still give it a thumbs up.

Armchair Interviews agrees.