Hickory Dickory Dash (Tony Wilson and Laura Wood, Scholastic)

Following the success of The Cow Tripped over the Moon, Tony Wilson and Laura Wood return with another collaboration that fleshes out a well-known nursery rhyme. Did you ever wonder why the mouse ran up the clock, then ran back down after it struck one? You may be surprised to discover she was frantic with worry for her two missing sons, and had spent the last couple of hours searching for them all over the house, all the while trying to stay one step ahead of the wicked house cat. Wilson’s rhyming text offers readers nail-biting suspense interspersed with laughs of the slapstick variety. Wood’s illustrations effectively set the scene, and her use of light and shadow, colour and shade, brings to life the house at night. Hickory Dickory Dash is a pleasing picture book that will appeal to fans of this award-winning team’s first pairing, especially those aged three to seven years old. It’s sure to delight thousands as the selected title for the Australian Library and Information Association’s National Simultaneous Storytime this year.

Michael Earp is a children’s bookseller at the Little Bookroom.

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