Part of a series of rhyming picture books, these are designed to help four- to six-year-olds learn to read. They certainly do not help them learn about scansion, as most of the rhymes are off a beat or two.

The language, which is touted as “basic” on the back blurb, is also hackneyed, adding “no way,” “poo,” and “getting lots of kicks” to children’s vocabularies. Arnold Lobel, with Frog and Toad, managed to write great stories for early readers without descending to slang or vulgarity.

Edwards’ plots are not very fresh either. A Crowded Ride in the Countryside is a poor man’s version of John Burningham’s Mr. Gumpy’s Outing, in which a similarly charitable driver quickly accumulates a menagerie of hitchhikers until his car grinds to a halt, and everyone gets out to push. Snug as a Big Red Bug is the most interesting visually – it’s illustrated from the bug’s point of view as he searches for a home – but the text is the most lacklustre of the three, with its tedious question-and-answer refrain.

John Bianchi’s illustrations, while dynamic, are stylistically generic. The crass, cartoony style and super-saturated colours remind me of Boyton greeting cards, but with computer-generated backgrounds.

These books may appeal to children (my three-year-old liked them), but the lazy use of English will frustrate adults.