Jill and the Jogero

Joan Weller is Head Librarian at the West Branch of the Ottawa Public
Library.

This book, inspired by Thompson’s young daughter’s drawings of a
monster or “Jogero” and her experimentation with language and
imagination, should have remained a personal experience. To assume that
young picture-book readers would be interested in the book’s
heroine’s gibberish and the ensuing string of silly events is to
underestimate parents’ and children’s critical appreciation of
story, language, and illustration. The garishly colored illustrations
portray an unappealing father and daughter, and an ugly,
not-so-funny-looking creature. Wordy pages of text, poor illustrations,
and no story line all add up to an unrecommended book.