Tickle break

Dear Annie,

That's so lovely that you know the author of Gotta Go! Gotta Go! in a completely different (and excellent) context.  Tell him he has fans down here in Washington DC.

It's been a busy week in the toy store.  At one point I was straightening the board book section in the the aftermath of some particularly fast-fingered toddlers when I had to stop and read the book I'd just picked up. 

Tickle Time came out earlier this year, leading me to believe that Sandra Boynton was back to her old excellent form.  You and I are both quite fond of her, as illustrated here, here, here and here.   I've commented before that her period of greatest creativity didn't seem to extend far into the 21st century, but here's a great new one.

Actually, no.  It's just new to board book format.  Tickle Time's original copyright is 1996, when it appeared as one of the songs in
Rhinoceros Tap, one of Boynton's CD-and-lyrics books.  One could find the tune of Tickle Time in that CD, but it's pure delight on its own, with a beat to match Barnyard Dance.

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.

The accompanying animal (cat?) appears doubtful, but the crowd gets going:

We can tickle LEFT.
We can tickle RIGHT.
We can tickle all the day
until the tickle night.

 There's a rest break in the middle of all that gitchy-gitchy goo-ing, then on to tickling a million friends.

Books like this can change a mood in a moment.  One of the perks of my job: I have access to Sandra Boynton whenever I need her.

Love,

Deborah