Take Me Out of the Bathtub by Alan Katz

Illustrated by David Catrow. Margaret K. McElderry, New York, 2001.
Hardcover edition, 32 pages, ISBN 978-0689829031.

Katz showcases a collection of 14 very funny song poems such as "I've Been Cleaning Up My Bedroom" meant to be sung to the tune of "I've Been Working on the Railroad", and "Sock in the Gravy" sung to "Rockabye Baby". All of the topics center around ordinary home and family events gone awry, and all of the tunes are familiar nursery rhyme ditties or folk songs. David Catrow adds to the mayhem with his fanciful illustrations of food fights, overflowing bathtubs, and (ick) carsickness.

A couple of the songs need practice to scan properly, but most work well enough to sing at a toddler or preschool storytime.

Singing songs to familiar tunes aids in memorization. Most of the songs have a short plot line or expository story to tell to help with narrative skills.

Pigs Aplenty, Pigs Galore! by David McPhail

Dutton's Children's Books, New York, 1993.
Hardcover edition, 32 pages, ISBN 0-525-45079-3.

The hilarious surprise invasion of a legion of pigs overwhelms an unsuspecting homeowner. McPhail creates a delightfully oddball assortment of fanciful swine:

"Black pigs, white pigs,
Brown and pink pigs,
Making-oatmeal-
in-the-sink pigs."

"Pigs in tutus,
Pigs in kilts,
Pigs on skateboards,
Pigs on stilts."

A party ensues complete with a piggy band and refreshment in the form of a gigantic stack of pizzas, leaving the beleaguered gentleman with a disaster area and and an enormous bill. Suddenly he snaps, demanding that the swine vacate the premises forthwith.  The penitent pigs agree to undertake a massive cleaning effort, and exhausted by their exertions, plop into bed to dream:

"Of pigs and pigs
And pigs some more--
Of pigs aplenty,
Pigs galore!"

Great fun to read aloud dramatically at a pig-themed storytime.

Phonological awareness is enhanced through the simple rhyming text. Narrative skills are developed in retelling the progression of events. Dialogic conversation around the variously themed pig costumes may assist in enlarging vocabulary.