Sonderbooks Book Review of Rhinoceros Tap

Reviewed August 3, 2004.
Workman Publishing, New York, 2004. First published (in cassette format) in 1996. 62 pages.
Available at Sembach Library (E BOY).
Sonderbooks Stand-out 2004, #2, Picture Books

Rhinoceros Tap was actually written before Philadelphia Chickens, so it doesn’t have the celebrity performances. Now it’s been put into CD format, and it is wonderfully delightful and thoroughly silly, perfect for any family with kids of any age.

The favorite song at our house is “Tickle Time,” since it’s the perfect accompaniment for a Ticklefest. Truly, “if you’re feeling blue and you don’t know what to do, there is nothing like a Tickle Time to make you feel like new.”

Some other songs I love for their delightful silliness are “O, Lonely Peas,” about the poor peas nobody loves, “The Crabby Song,” about happy sailors with a crabby captain, “Tropical Sand,” a song with a tropical beat about someone who’s tired of sand and wants to move to Alaska, “The Shortest Song in the Universe,” so short, and “Turkey Love Song,” O, so silly!

The tunes to these songs are wonderfully singable and stick in your head. (I love the German word for that—translated, they’re an “earworm.”) The pictures are familiar, fun Sandra Boynton specialties. In the back, you’ve got all the complete words and music.

Reviews of other books by Sandra Boynton:
Philadelphia Chickens
Frog Trouble
Dog Train
How Big Is Zagnodd?
Woo Hoo! You're Doing Great!
Hippos Remain Calm

-top of page-

Book Reviews by Sondra Eklund

*****Rhinoceros Tap*

15 Seriously Silly Songs by Boynton & Ford

by Sandra Boynton

music by Sandra Boynton & Michael Ford

sung by Adam Bryant