The Hugely-Wugely Spider by Ethan T. Berlin (review)

It's all well and good for itsy-bitsy spiders to hang out in a sheltering downspout, but for our corpulent narrator, the attempt to wedge his Hugely-Wugely self into the opening results in Pooh Bear–esque humiliation, pushed out by his tiny companions. When the rain comes, as the nursery rhyme predicts, he's a hero, hustling up the downspout, plopping himself in the drain hole ("Geesh, people, would it be too much to CLEAN YOUR GUTTERS?!"), and saving the itsy-bitsies from a wipeout wave. They demonstrate their appreciation by presenting him with a set of colorful legwarmers and a revised ballad in his honor—a comically tortured rendering of the nursery classic that invites an enthusiastic, completely unharmonious sing-along from the audience. Although the title and giggle-inducing cartoon artwork will entice a young audience, this one's for kids already awarded their kindergarten diplomas (or who at least have aced Fingerplay 101) and are ready for dashes of challenging vocabulary and participatory deconstruction. Cue "The Wheels on the Bus" and "I'm a Little Teapot": with this as a template, any kid can confidently rework a traditional tune with gleeful disregard of rhythm and rhyme. EB