Jillian Jiggs

Pauline Carey is an actor, playwright and librettist and author of the
children’s books Magic and What’s in a Name?

This is a rhyming story, by the author of The Balloon Tree, about a little girl with a passion for dressing up and a permanently untidy bedroom. With all the good will in the world, Jillian’s attempt to clean up her room only inspires her and her friends to further chaos as they turn everything they touch into a costume and dress up as witches and monsters and pirates and trees. Mother staggers through various stages of despair and finally puts her foot down, as mothers will, and insists that the room be tidied up. The friends leave and Jillian cheerfully prepares to make things neater.

Mothers might be disheartened that no better solution is found to the eternal problem of getting a room cleaned up, but children of both sexes will respond to the eternal fun of dressing up.

The illustrations, by the author, are crowded with detail that makes one linger. Unfortunately, the packaging of the book is misleading. The bright illustration on the glossy cover is in strong colours. Inside, the colours are disappointingly faded.