From the Bookshelf of Baltimore County Public Library Summer Reading BCPL SRC …

[close] I had a lot of problems with this book. First, the poetry rhyme scheme would change at random, which really disrupted the flow of reading it. Second, most of the stanzas were really stretching for rhyming words - sometimes ignoring basic grammar, making the animals do ridiculous things ("looking for knees" - what?), and basically disrupting the plot just for the sake of rhymes. Then the plot itself was just ok - boasting snake was cheating in a race and got outwitted by the only two runners who were smart enough not to be intimidated by snake's boasts. All around, eh.