Fix That Clock

PreS-Gr 2--A decrepit clock tower stands abandoned and moldering. "Rats are nesting on the beams./Bats are resting in the seams./Time is rusted in the gears, /frozen fast for years and years." Then, with pep in their step, a diverse three-person construction crew arrives to repair the tower "marching up the ramp...Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!" Starting at the bottom where even the stairs are unsalvageable, the team fixes the structure from the ground up, dislodging various resident critters in the process. Once they restore the clock mechanism, they build little houses on the sides of the tower for the rats, mice, bats, and birds displaced by the construction. Cyrus's radiantly sunlit spreads show the energetic scenes of demolition and rebuilding, his assiduous laborers in their colorful overalls and hard hats, wielding many tools that young readers can discover and name. VERDICT Cheerful illustrations perfectly complement the bouncy, catchy verse that just begs to be read aloud. A terrific addition to most collections and storytimes.--Yelena Voysey, formerly at Pickering Educational Library, Boston University