Old King Cole

.span style = 'font-weight:bold'>PreS—Trapani has added another nursery rhyme extension book to her large collection. In this new version, Old King Cole has been up all night planning his yearly ball to be held in the royal hall. When the fiddlers three serenade him with a sweet song, the king falls asleep. Now comes the problem: the ball can't begin without him. What follows are various nursery rhyme characters' attempts to wake him up. The rooster, Mother Hubbard and her dog, the three pigs, Little Boy Blue, and Little Bo Peep all try to wake up Old King Cole, to no avail. Will there be no ball? Then in comes the Queen of Hearts with a tray of her freshly baked tarts to save the day. When the yummy aroma reaches the king's nose, he awakens and the festivities can begin. Trapani's rhymes are fun, and the language flows well from line to line. Her use of some uncommon words will add to a child's vocabulary: serenade, desire, hoarse, shrill, and blared. The detailed illustrations, done in watercolor, gouache, ink, and colored pencil, make it easy to pick out the different characters. The back cover of the book lists all the invitees, which allows children to search each page for the various guests.