The wonderfully colorful and expressive illustrations earn 4 stars, but the less-than-grammatical conversational style of the text dropped my overall rating to 3 stars. I appreciate the folk lore origins of the story; I just find it hard to read a story, especially out loud, that's written in such a different style from how I myself would speak.

The repeating verse throughout the book will get into kids' heads and have them chanting along with the story. They'll laugh at the rabbit's antics, especially when they realize what he's plotting.

Pickin' Peas would make a great read-aloud book for summer storytimes, especially if kids can get some hands-on experience picking peas themselves in a school, home, or library garden.

Note: I received a digital galley of this book through NetGalley. ( )

Pickin Peas is the beautiful retelling of folktale that originally appeared, according to MacDonald, in Southern Workman. This book is meant to be read aloud and acted out in a group setting. The last page gives actions, a tune to use if you want and some suggestions for acting out the song using characters.

A little girls plants peas and waits for them to be ready to pick. She sings as she picks the big peas. She leaves the small ones to get bigger. Rabbit comes along behind her singing his own tune and eats the peas she has left. She catches him and tells him she is going to keep him in a box until all the peas have been picked. Rabbit tricks her and escapes.

The illustrations are cute, but the story itself does not have much to it. It would be cute with young children singing and acting out the story.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and August House to read and review. ( )

Established folklorist McDonald retells an early 20th-century Alabama tale about a clever rabbit who tricks his way out of trouble (and with a full stomach, to beat!). Rhythmic repeated refrains bring opportunities for audience participation, and students can practice inference in examining the facial expressions in the contemporary illustrations. Recommended. Review copy received via NetGalley.com. (136) ( )

This is a great read aloud for Preschool-3rd grades. A lovely tale from the south complete with a trickster rabbit. ( )