Toronto poet and author JonArno Lawson puts a new spin on the well-known children’s song, replacing the familiar E-I-E-I-O refrain with A-E-I-O-U (and sometimes Y) in a bid to teach children their vowels.

Each vowel, highlighted in sequence, triggers a wacky rhyme that features its long and short sounds, such as this one for the letter E: “Sneeze deep helpless sneezes / then fetch fresh cheeses / where dew-wet trees / meet the sweet bee breezes.” While Lawson’s rhyming isn’t always consistent, it is always fun. Readers will laugh as their tongues are tied, and will delight in being challenged by new words and ways of describing things.

Tina Holdcroft’s exuberant illustrations are as silly as Lawson’s text (if not more so) and make use of every colour in the rainbow. Clad in polka-dot boots and clashing plaid and stripes, Old MacDonald makes use of a series of creative, over-the-top inventions to complete her daily farm chores. The farm animals, as zany looking as their keeper, are shown in hilarious situations – from cows munching on striped socks to rats parachuting from the rafters. Holdcroft’s incredibly detailed pictures are sure to have readers finding new, quirky elements each time they read the book.

Kids having trouble learning their vowels certainly won’t be after a few readings of this fun and educational book, which will work equally well at home and in the classroom.