Something Good

Joan Buchanan is a writer, storyteller and instructor, and author of
Taking Care of My Cold.

Munsch has created another irreverent, lively story, this one about
grocery shopping. Dad doesn’t agree with Tyya’s taste for junk food.
When she fills a shopping cart with 100 boxes of ice cream, she has to
put them all back. After she puts 300 chocolate bars into the cart, her
frustrated father tells her to stand still until he comes back. Knowing
she’s in deep trouble, she doesn’t budge, not even when her toe is
run over or when she’s bonked on the head by a salesperson who thinks
she’s a life-sized doll.

Munsch is a master of the storyteller’s simplicity, using repetition,
lists, and exaggeration to great effect. He takes an ordinary event like
shopping and whips up an exuberant yard with catchy rhythms that kids
will enjoy. Capitalizing key phrases is one device that adds emphasis
and expression, making this a story begging to be read aloud
enthusiastically with lots of audience participation.

Martchenko’s pictures are humorous and energetic. He skillfully
captures the reality and the whimsy of the text.

It is good to see (though perhaps not immediately noticeable to the
intended four- to seven-year-old audience) the father fit so naturally
into the caregiving role. This book is sturdily bound and attractively
and colorfully designed—a children’s delight.