I must say that I read this wonderful little book by Leah Orr with a smile on my face and a whimsical nostalgic feeling in my heart. Being a father of a wonderful daughter and the grandfather of four wonderful grandchildren who have been a big part in our lives, I could so very much identify with this work. Little Messy Tessy is quite like my daughter was at that age; even sort of looks like her. That daughter, by the way, has been teaching first grade for over twenty years now, so her "messy ways" certainly did not have a detrimental impact on her life.
This is an extremely well written little book for the wee ones. The text is done in a rhyming fashion with a series of well crafted couplets. Now these are not couplets of the nonsense nature with nonsense words...no, no, no! These are extremely well done and a lot of thought has been put into them; they actually tell a story! When you have an author that can write, and write well, and who has an obvious deep knowledge of her subject, i.e. kids in general, little girls in specific, then you have a sure fire winner on your hands.
The story here is simple but oh so true and oh so typical. Tessy is left in the care of her aunt while her mom goes to the gym. It is in the nature of aunts to fall asleep during such times, and it is the nature of little girls and little boys to take advantage of that situation. Messy Tessy indeed! There was not one trick our messy little girl tried that my daughter did not try at that age; as a matter of fact, not one trick each of my grandsons did not try when "grandpa" was babysitting them, and like the aunt, fell asleep on the job!
And let's take a look at the illustrations in this work. Well done! Each plate is done in what appears to be colored pencil and at first glance is quite simple. The reader needs to take a closer look though. Simple they might seem, but they are so very well executed and there is so much more detail in each offering than one would first guess. The colors and blends of colors are actually quite sophisticated and I was so glad that the three characters in the book were not dressed to the hilt, and heaven forbid, color coordinated! Hey folks, that is not real life! This is good art work on display here and the artist has done a very professional job. The pictures go perfectly with the text.
This is a delightful read-along book which portrays a child being a child with no preachy pretense what so every...something I have become a bit concerned with of late with children's literature. Kids need to the kids and the author has let little Tessy be one. I like that! It is also obvious, which the reader can tell just via the nuances found page after page, that this child is loved. I liked that too!
It should be noted that all profits from this book go to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, to help fight this horrific disease and condition. I cannot think of a better organization to benefit.
Anyway, we have some good writing here, good art work, a great read along book and one that will not drive the adult reader out of their minds when they have to read it over and over again. What more could you ask for? I only hope we will hear much more from this author and artist in the future...there is some real talent on display here!
Add this one to your child's library; it is bound to be a big hit.
Don Blankenship
The Ozarks
- Accelerated Reading level : none found
- Paperback: 36 pages
- Publisher: AuthorHouse (August 18, 2009)
- ISBN-10: 1438993986
No comments :
Post a Comment