My children grew up watching The Elephant Show on TV starring Sharon, Lois and Bram. We sang all the songs and did the actions. When I saw that this book was based on one of our favourite songs, I jumped at the chance to read and sing with my grandchildren. It is wonderful, and although some additional verses have been added to the songs we sang when they were young, it brought back great memories. Qin Leng illustrated this book and did a great job adding children, animals and adults singing and celebrating as they parade through town. My two youngest grandchildren loved it and quickly started singing the chorus with me and we finally got the oldest to begrudgingly join in. It is available as a hardcover book and a boardbook, so would be a great gift for a baby.

When I 1st heard this song, it was at the library with my 2yr-old daughter sitting in my lap. It was such a joyful thing for us to sing together at the library with other children and the Skinnamarink song was so delightful, I tried to put it into memory. I wasn't successful. The title alone was a toughie to figure out. With the roar of children and parents, it kind of sounded like "Stinky marinky" to me. It made my kiddo laugh on the way home as we tried to figure it out.

So, I'm happy there's finally a book. I just wish there was audio/CD to go with it. However, the authors changed up the lyrics and this no longer sounds the same to me. Also, without the great chords, it's hard to conjure up the same melody and happiness the song evokes.

The art is ok and I'm sure it'll still translate to hard-core fans, but I think this book needs more (beyond its pencil drawings) to move this to the lyrical treasure it should be. Strangely, it was kind of awkward to try to read the book when it's such a lively, upbeat song.

The 1st 2 inner pages were bland and did not get me excited about the book. The rest of the images were fine but softly shaded and kind of crowded, the imagery competed with the words. I wish the text could be bolder against the pictures so it dances off the pages as it should. Kids love to have fun with this song; I don't think the book did it justice.


If folks are in the market for a kids' picture song book, I frankly like Down by the Bay that uses Raffi's song better. The illustrations had purpose (whereas, I felt Skinnamarink's was just decorative) and helped tell the story with its ridiculous rhyme. The lyrics are more sophisticated and keep my daughter more enthralled.

I loved this song as a child. This book will be a great way to share it with my children! The illustrations are fun and knowing the tune makes it fun to read along.

I have always loved Sharon, Lois, and Bram and watched it whenever we could find it [I watched it on reruns all the time when I lived in Canada - SUCH a great show], so I was very excited to get this ARC and I was not disappointed.

Fantastically illustrated, with so much to look at [kids of all ages will love looking for and pointing to everything they recognize and the things they don't that then can be discussed], this is simply the song "Skinnamarink" broken down and it is just so lovely and positive and gave me all the feels. This is a message that is sorely needed right now in the chaos of this world and it was a wonderful reminder that love is love is love and we can love and accept and be with each other and that hate has no place here. Such a great book. I loved it and cannot recommend it enough.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sharon Hampson, Lois Lillienstein, and Bram Morrison, Qin Leng - Illustrator, and Penguin Random House Canada/Tundra Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Whether you are a teacher, parent, or a fan of Sharon, Lois, and Bram, check out this picture book of their well-known folk song, “Skinnamarink.” As a primary music teacher, I am always on the lookout for new song and music tales to add to my curriculum and collection. With heartwarming illustrations, the song is brought to life for another generation to enjoy. Don’t miss out! Share your love with this song tale today.

A #Muslimsintheillustrations book (totally took that term from @islamicschoollibrarian) based on the popular rhyming song, “Skinnimarink” .

This Arc of an upcoming book is so cute that my baby started to babble it with me and she even enjoyed seeing some of the pictures from my phone. I assume its going to be a super fun read in real book format.

It is basically a songbook of the elementary rhyme and it easily rolled off my tongue, with the I love you’s bolded for added warmth! It has a lot of positivity and I love yous for children, no matter what the weather is or how they are feeling.

The hijabi girl and another older hijabi show up on a few page spreads (I counted 5ish) and the cover. There seems to be a message of inclusivity and diversity in the book as all sorts of different people, races, child in a wheelchair, religions, and orientation were on the page. There were even humanized animals, which I thought was interesting…I am not sure how I feel about it actually.

I do appreciate that hijabi Muslims are making it onto the covers of books and being included, but I have started to see a trend in the hijab that is being portrayed- its almost always put on with hair showing in the front. I have not always minded this, but I do feel like it would be more representative of Islam to have the hair fully covered.

We love this song so much, that of course the book was a huge hit. We adored it and loved the cute illustrations as well. Can’t go wrong with a classic.

My memories of childhood are exceptionally vivid: I probably can't tell you if I ate breakfast or not, but if you want to know who I sat next to in third grade, or every phone number of anybody I was friends with before I went to college, I got you. I only mention this because Sharon, Lois, & Bram feature heavily in my memories from about age 5 till about 10, and they made such an impact that some things, like the beloved-in-our-house "Skimmarink" song, never really went anywhere.

The Elephant Show apparently began airing in 1984, and - although I was five - it wasn't even really my tv show, but my then 1-yr-old sister's. (My shows before age five were the 'Is this a fever dream or do other people remember them too' Today's Special & Pinwheel, and the more easily remembered by others Romper Room & Reading Rainbow.) My then youngest sister had some speech issues that would qualify her for services now, but back in the days of olde, when we were children, parents were pretty much on their own with kids until they were old enough to start school. Luckily, we were also in a huge boom time for educational television, and our mom - after the success of Sesame Street in helping my brother and I remember such essential things as how many ladybugs were at the ladybug picnic - took full advantage of all these shows. My lsister loved music, and The Elephant Show had - by far - the most amount of songs & singing.  Before long, songs like "Who Stole The Cookies From the Cookie Jar" were just an everyday part of our family lexicon.

And the song that stuck around the most, that we've all sung to the kiddos that came along since then - including said younger sister's two small children - is "Skimmarink," the closing song for every episode of the show. Between the easily memorizable & charming lyrics, the accompanying hand gestures, and the fact that once you teach a kid something they like, they will then make you repeat it 10,000 times, "Skimmarink: is just as much a part of the songs of childhood in our family as the alphabet or "Happy Birthday". So when I saw NetGalley was offering up digital copies of a new book based on the song, I snapped up a copy right quick.

And I've since bought two hardcover copies as well - one for our house & one for my sister's - so her kids and I can read it to/with each other over our weekly FaceTimes. The book is written by "Sharon, Lois, & Bram w/Randi Hampson", and - according to the author's notes & acknowledgements - the original song was written by the late Lois Lilienstein, who 'brought it from her family to ours,' and the three musicians have been singing it together since their very first concert in 1978. Sharon Hampson (who seems to run the band's TikTok w/her daughter, the aforementioned co-author, Randi Hampson, w/whom she continues to do live shows) & Bram Morrison then worked with illustrator Qin Leng to bring this playful & joyous version of the song to a whole new generation of kids.

The illustrations are colorful & fun, ranging from crowded & hectic to sweet & sincere, and crammed full of little hidden jokes & moments of absurdity. They also reflect a wide & diverse range of humans & animals - a lady in a wheelchair is singing the song right next to a lion on one page; an alligator scrambles past a smiling girl waving a pride flag on the next. And all of it just emits the same nonsensical happiness vibe of the original show. (All while adding a verse we either stopped singing at some point or was added specifically to the book, I'm not sure which.)  It's - once again - a family favorite, just in a whole new medium.


Here's my favorite picture, by the way.  5 Stars

Firstly, I would like to thank Netgalley for providing me with an e-arc of the book. This review is based on my sons enjoyment he absolutely love the art style in this book and it was fairly apparent he enjoyed this as he descriptive pictures whilst reading through the book. Lois, and Bram and I adored seeing my favourite of their songs brought to life.

Firstly, I would like to thank Netgalley for providing me with an e-arc of the book. This review is based on my personal opinion and enjoyment of the book.

Adorable book - cute art style. The portrayal of the song skinnamarink - a favorite in the storytime program.s

As a child I was a huge fan of Sharon, Lois, and Bram and I adored seeing my favourite of their songs brought to life in this book. The illustrations are beautiful and have lots of fun details that will make this book a fun one to read over and over again - longtime fans will recognize the dance moves illustrated on the pages as well. I loved the diversity of the children in the illustrations, and the sweet message of the story.

We have always loved this song, and we really loved this book!! I used to sing this song with my mom when I was a child, so it's really sweet to read this book and sing it with my own child all these years later. The illustrations were cute and fun, and the song is always a hit. This is a book I would like to own so we can reaf it over and over!

𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 Penguin Random House Canada / Tundra Books for a digital copy of this book! This book is due for publication 6/21/22.

💙 Mommy (@𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐦𝐨𝐦) and Ronan (@𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐤𝐢𝐝) approved ✅

𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝑰𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎 𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑨𝒎𝒂𝒛𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒏 𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒅𝒂𝒚!

Loved reading Skinnamarink with my family brought back all the memories of being a child and singing this song myself.

There are a lot of humans and animals depicted in this joyful busy songbook, including a few #muslimsintheillustrations . The book follows the classic song and illustrates the actions that typically accompany it. For toddlers and up this book is fun to read aloud and to spend time with to pore over the pictures. Even in silly books representation matters, representation ALWAYS matters! It is important to normalize all skin colors and body types, religious and cultural garb, different types of mobility and coming together to enjoy universal activities! 📚 happy reading📚#islamicschoollibrarian

I have been singing this song to my son since he was a baby. I was so excited to see this board book version. Illustration was great and the way it was written encourages a sing a long.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for access to this ARC.

This book was so important to me!! My mom used to sing this to me every night before bed so when I saw this was becoming a book then I needed to read it!! It is just the song but still such a wonderful book!! I went out and bought it for myself too! Such a great moral for kids to learn! The artwork was great and so colorful!!

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974

Anyone who grew up in the 80s and 90s remembers the Elephant Show. This book captures the love and whimsy of the show. A great way of reminiscing about the past, and exposing future generations to the show.

OH! This is a nursery rhyme that I never heard before. Then I go to YouTube, search the song, and now I know! A wonderful song for all ages, to tell them that you love them no matter what, and that's the most important thing to understand.

Skinnarmarinky dinky dink... Come on, I know you're all singing already! Seriously though, I was offered a chance to read an early release of this book and I knew I had to do it! Sharon, Lois, and Bram's The Elephant Show was a favorite of my kids & this is a song we sang over & over. We even went to see the show live a couple of times. Such good memories, such sweet simplicity in this book. The song in text with adorable illustrations will have you singing once again ❤

I think this books hits a certain generation with many fond memories. The illustrations and extra verses of the song create a beautiful welcoming world for everyone.