Bonnie & Ben Rhyme Again

Spirited children Bonnie and Ben go on what appears to be a familiar and fun outing with their friend Skinny Doug—a rhyming walk! The children proudly recite memorized rhymes triggered by the changing scenery on their walk. Their path takes them to a hill, eliciting the first nursery rhyme in their journey: “Jack and Jill.” After a variety of other nursery rhymes, like “Little Bo Peep” (with her randomly colorful sheep), comes “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” upon the sight of the brightly lit night sky. With each rhyme Bonnie and Ben recite, their words bring characters to life, joining them on their stroll. Horacek’s simple watercolor and ink illustrations depict stick figure-like characters that provide a quirky and nostalgic touch to the story yet somewhat belittle the classic rhymes they’re paired with. The unusual premise of the story—the children going out for a day of walking and rhyming with an adult friend—ends on a lovely and clever note tying nursery rhymes to bedtime when “Bonnie and Ben said . . . nothing at all” after a day with so many things to say. With average rhymes like “hurrah” and “are,” (which works with Fox’s Australian accent but diminishes the book for others), this nursery collection won’t be pulled off the shelf as much as others.