Moo, Moo, Brown Cow, Have You Any Milk?

This riff on the traditional nursery rhyme "Baa Baa Black Sheep" retains the familiar rhythm for some of the lines ("Honk, honk, gray goose, have you any down? / 'Yes, sir, yes, sir, half a pound'") but adopts a slightly different pattern, which nonetheless scans well, for the rest ("Does down make a pillow for my head? / 'Yes, sir, yes, sir,' the gray goose said"). Consequently, adults reading this with very young children will need to be on their metrical toes. Not really a problem, because Gershator's rhymes tell an engaging bedtime story that is enriched by Potter's parallel visual narrative. A small boy asks five animals (including a cow and a bee) what they can offer, concentrating on items that will help him go to sleep. Alert youngsters will notice at the end that all these animals, either stuffed or revolving over his bed in a mobile, are his nighttime companions. Potter's uncluttered illustrations carry the minimalist narrative thread but also add humor. For example, a chicken, outfitted with an apron, oversees the boy's bread-making (she gave him eggs), and a sheep furiously knits a blanket for the boy's bed. The story's familiar pattern leads quietly to dreamland: "Sleep tight, farm friends. / May I dream with you? / 'Yes, sir, yes, sir, yes, please do.'" Betty Carter