If You're Happy and You Know It - Hardcover

PreS-Gr 2 Weiss' song book is different from many collections of children's songs, as it has a more visually appealing layout. It is certainly attractive; her gouache and pencil cartoons are bright and funny, often adding touches of humor to the lyrics. Serious problems surface, however, when one tries to use this as a song book. The lyrics and melody line are broken up into short phrases and scattered throughout the illustrations. Lyrics occasionally disappear into the background, while one has to carefully follow arrows and numbers from phrase to phrase to get the song reassembled. It is very hard, and annoying, to have to hunt your way through each song. Weiss' selection of songs is nice, although none are hard to find elsewhere. Tom Glazer's Eye Winker, Tom Tinker (1973) and Do Your Ears Hang Low (1980, both Doubleday) contain many of the same songs in a usable form. The desire to do something different with a song book is commendable, but turning it into a picture puzzle simply doesn't work. Elaine Fort Weischedel, Turner Free Library, Randolph, Mass.

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