Whoops!

PreS-Gr 1—With bouncing meter that at first plays off the structure of a cumulative rhyme, a cat, a dog, and a mouse find themselves not knowing how to do their respective meows, woofs, and squeaks. Following an owl's advice, they visit an old lady in a tumbledown house that lies in the heart of a forest. The fun begins when the old lady, who is more mad scientist-looking than witchy, breaks out her spell book to try to fix the animals, only to have the cat clucking, the dog quacking, and the mouse crowing like a rooster. Subsequent attempts amp up the ruckus of thunder, lightning, and the tumbledown house spinning around, but the end product is the same—mismatched animal sounds and a kooky "Whoops!" from the old lady. In contrast to the subdued neutral colors of the animals' introduction and the blue-gray woods, the spell casting is done against bright fuchsia, blue, green, and orange pages. Adding to the silliness is the old lady's hair color also changing with each try. There are numerous access points for interacting with an audience.