Over in the Meadow

For more than 100 years, Over in the Meadow — a traditional southern Appalachian counting rhyme — has been a joyous introduction for young children to counting, rhyming, and nature. In this lyrical book, readers will meet ten different meadow-dwelling mother animals and their babies, brought to life by Jan Thornhill in an ingenious way. Thornhill uses everyday objects to construct this imaginary meadow: a beaver's dam is built of pretzels, a dragonfly flits with paperclip wings, and fish shimmer with coins for scales. Children will enjoy identifying these familiar objects — a "Where is It?" guide is included at the back of the book — as much as they will enjoy the sing-song cadence of this rhyme. Plus, hand-drawn text incorporates rebus elements to help even the youngest readers follow along.