Why I Will Never Ever Ever Ever Have Enough Time to Read This Book

While reviewing her day-to-day chores and activities, a young girl is certain that she will never have time to finish her book, but she manages to open it for quick escapes throughout her busy day. 20,000 first printing.

Kindergarten-Grade 3-In excruciating detail, a young girl describes how busy her day is and why she can't finish reading this book. In just one page, she tells readers that she "-got out of bed, put on my bathrobe, put on my slippers, went to the bathroom, let the shower run-got out of my bathrobe, got out of my slippers, got out of my pajamas. Then I-took a shower." So it goes. Is it any wonder she can't find the time to read? The action takes place from sunup until bedtime, though nothing much happens. The true charm of the book lies in its tongue-in-cheek presentation and lively watercolor illustrations. Muth has created a multiracial, multigenerational array of friends and family who surround the unnamed protagonist. Careful observers will be tickled to note that the girl's open book always mirrors the pages they are reading. A light, original diversion.
Roxanne Burg, Thousand Oaks Library, CA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

There's more to this clever book than initially meets the eye. A busy girl struggles from sun-up to sundown to squirrel away time to read, but something always seems to get in the wayAa shower ("Careful! Don't get the book wet!"), a breakfast of cereal ("Who left this book in the fridge?"), etc. Sure enough, by nightfall she still hasn't managed to finish her book. Charlip's (Sleepytime Rhyme) diverting tale strikes just the right bemused note with its step by step, don't-stop-to-take-a-breath descriptions of mundane activities. Hand-lettered text befits the first-person rendition, while Muth's (Gershon's Monster, reviewed in Children's Religion Forecasts, Aug. 28) witty watercolors amplify and extend the humor inherent in each deadpan passage. He gives the tale additional punch by varying the pace from full-page scenes to frame-by-frame snapshots and by casting the main characters as an intriguingly multicultural extended family. Readers will also enjoy the recurring visual pun as they spy the very same book they're reading in the hand of the girl, and the same page they're looking at almost every time she manages to sneak a peek at it. Ages 6-up. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 5-8. This utterly charming (and more than a little surreal) picture book is winsome in text and art. As our young heroine wakes up, with this very book at her side, she begins the morning ritual of getting out of bed, getting dressed, making breakfast, and so on. She gets to school (barely) and then goes home to the ever-longer list of stuff she needs to do (babysit, do homework, call friends). The book is by her side, usually open to the very page we are on. A clock in most of the pictures tracks the day, as our heroine's multiracial and multigenerational family engages comfortably in the business of daily living. Humorous visual asides (a green stuffed animal that turns up in a dinner bowl) will produce giggles. And the girl does, of course, finish the book, as we see on the last page. The catalog of daily activities will have children totting up their own. GraceAnne DeCandido
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