In her picture book debut, Vail (Wonder) delivers a hilarious and exuberant twist on a classic nursery rhyme. A lovely, ever-so-hefty cow takes center stage‘literally‘as a monkey named Hiram Diddle Diddle (Hi for short) directs her in a stage production of his rhyme. In a series of comical scenes, the cow makes several attempts to jump over a moon suspended above the stage, but instead she jumps under, beside and through it. Just before the excitable Mr. Diddle Diddle blows a gasket, the cow pulls off the perfect performance. Vail's inventive text takes the form of clever quips (as when the cow tells the director, "Gimme another shot. I think I know what you're looking for") displayed in bold hand-lettering within black-and-white talk bubbles. Amid all the zaniness, she presents a solid lesson on prepositions as well. Nash's (Oh, Tucker!) crisp watercolors play a crucial supporting role here. His memorable animal actors (including the cool fiddle-playing cat, decked out in a black turtleneck, and the little laughing dachshund) remain fresh and funny, take after take, and their variety of facial expressions makes them all the more entertaining. Encore! Encore! Ages 3-7. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Off-off-Broadway director Hi (short for Hiram) Diddle Diddle's star cow keeps jumping [cf2]under, next to,[cf1] and then [cf2]through[cf1] the moon. When she finally makes it [cf2]over[cf1] the moon, she--whoops!--lands right on top of Mr. Diddle Diddle, now [cf2]under[cf1] the cow. This sophisticated, playful take-off (and prepositions lesson) has a hip, beatniky feel and lots of energetic, spiky dialogue balloons that carry the action forward. From HORN BOOK Spring 1999, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Vail (Daring to be Abigail, 1996, etc.) reimagines a nursery rhyme as a Broadway production headed for disaster; running concurrent with the lines of the rhyme is the exasperated exchanges between noted director, Hiram ``Hi'' Diddle Diddle, and his uncooperative cow. ``Over the moon! You get it? Or the whole nursery rhyme is ruined.'' But the cow keeps goofing up. She leaps under, next to, and finally right through the glowing orb (which is only a paper moon in this production). Finally the bovine star gets it right, but after successfully flying over the moon she crash lands on her worried director, which sets the little dog giggling. When the dish and the spoon cut out for a bite to eat, the rest of the crew (including the cool blue fiddling cat) decide to take a break, too. Although young readers might not get all the theatrical posturing and angst, Nash's funny illustrations, with the hand-lettered dialogue appearing in conversation balloons, will elicit plenty of smiles, making Vail's first picture book a giddy success. (Picture book. 3-7)

Ages 5^-7. In her picture-book debut, Vail changes the familiar "Hey Diddle Diddle" to "Hi Diddle Diddle" to introduce a creative monkey director, Hiram Diddle Diddle. "Hi" is putting the familiar nursery rhyme on stage, but the cow just can't seem to get things right. It jumps under, next to, through, and anywhere but over the moon. After Hi has a few theatrical tantrums, the cow learns how to take direction and jumps just right. The sleek book design and Nash's stylized characters--the beret-wearing director, a fiddle-playing hepcat--are quirky, cool, and fun. But the illustrations aren't clear enough for children who may be learning the concepts of over and under; in many scenes it's just too hard to tell exactly where the cow is in relation to the moon. And although Vail's wry lampoon of theater folk will amuse adults, it will probably leave some children in the dark. --Kathleen Squires

K-Gr 3-By Rachel Vail. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.