HOWEVER, my three-year-old and one-year-old are pretty easy to impress. Even a "so-so" fingerplay can result in a fun time with them.

The biggest advantage of this book, for me, is the topical organization. I am using the rhymes to accompany themed activities. For example, we were talking about corn today; I looked up "foods" (listed in table of contents) and quickly found a rhyme. We used "Sweet Corn,"(which briefly talks about picking, cooking and eating corn) with props to pretend we were actually cooking corn. Though the rhyme isn't incredible, it was perfect to teach a concept.

The contents includes topics such as toys, snack time, Easter, snow, flowers, beach...about 70.

You might check this book out at the library first to help determine if it will fit your needs. You could find it a waste of money OR a real time-saver and lesson-enhancing reference.

It did not.

While it did have many verses, they were uninspired and unimaginative. The majority lacked rhythm and were poorly rhymed, and there was no musical notation at all. Even the few traditional rhymes/plays were "adapted." It was not illustrated as expected--there were general illustrations in the book, but none demonstrating the hand movements or gestures! In fact, there were frequent notes with the rhymes to "make appropriate hand movements" or words to that effect!

Essentially this seems to be a compilation of 'rhymes' submitted to a daycare providers' newsletter by its subscribers. The book was divided into sections as follows: Myself, School, Community, Seasons, Animals, Plants & Foods, Weather, Earth & Sky, Holidays, Special Days, Special People.

This book was a huge disappointment and I returned it the day after receiving it. For the same amount of money one can purchase both of Joanna Cole's books and the Emilie Poulsson book. They may not boast 1,000 rhymes, but they offer all the quality and features that this collection does not.