Chicken Soup with Rice

In January
it's so nice
while slipping
on the sliding ice
to sip hot chicken soup
with rice

Collected in this charming book are twelve lilting rhymes and illustrations for the twelve months of the year, with chicken soup as their universal theme. Although the book starts in the middle of winter — presumably the best time for chicken soup — a case is made for the presence of chicken soup in every season. Even in the peak of the sultry summer: In August / it will be so hot / I will become / a cooking pot / cooking soup of course / Why not? / Cooking once / cooking twice / cooking chicken soup / with rice.

In this tiny volume, first published in 1962, the inimitable Maurice Sendak demonstrates his famous ear for language, rhythm, and word play and anticipates the strengths of his later children's classics such as Where the Wild Things Are and In the Night Kitchen. Likewise, his illustrations here in Chicken Soup with Rice are, as always, playful and witty. Each rhyme is introduced with a decorative bar, framing the name of each month like a calendar. And by the "year's end," readers are convinced that all seasons / of the year / are nice / for eating / chicken soup / with rice!

An excellent read-aloud, demonstrating the progression of the year, seasons, and the power of poetry.