Review by Booklist Review
Ages 2^-4. It's a scenario that nearly every young preschooler--and loving parent--will recognize. Harriet is a pesky kid. She doesn't mean to be (she says), and she's always really sorry after she knocks over her juice, drips paint on the carpet, rips open a feather pillow, and creates mayhem and mess. Her increasingly exasperated mother starts off with affectionate protest ("My darling child"), but under the sweetness, Mother's anger is rising, until, finally, she yells and yells and yells. Harriet cries, her mother is sorry, and they hug each other and laugh together. As in Hush, Little Baby [BKL N 15 99], Frazee's colored pencil and ink illustrations extend the story with unexpected angles, details, and juxtapositions that will make kids laugh at the mess and look closely at the expressions of temper and affection. What's great here is that as the tension rises and rises, you can't wait for the sweetness to go away, the pent-up anger to be released, and have mother and child be open about their feelings. --Hazel Rochman
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
"Harriet is what grown-ups refer to as a handful, and her mother handles each incident with good-humored restraint," wrote PW. "Visually, the book never strikes a false note." Ages 3-7. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Mem Fox's picture book (Harcourt, 2000) receives standard iconographic video treatment here. Harriet is a toddler who makes age-appropriate mistakes-knocking over her juice, dribbling jam on her clothes, dripping paint on the carpet-but she never means to, and she always says she's sorry. Her patient mother handles the mishaps with grace-until Harriet destroys a pillow when she's supposed to be napping, and her mother starts to yell. Mom and daughter make up with a hug and apologies on both sides. Debra Leigh narrates the tale, capturing with aplomb the frustrated voice of the mother and the petulant tone of the toddler. The camera scans Marla Frazee's expressive pastel pencil-and-ink illustrations. This simple tale is a reminder that grownups as well as kids can make mistakes and say they are sorry.-Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Maryland School for the Deaf, Columbia (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
(Preschool) Pesky Harriet Harris has enough exasperating accidents in one day to try any parent's patience. ""Just like that,"" she spills her juice all over the dog at breakfast, dribbles jam all over herself at snacktime, drips paint on the carpet, and pulls the cloth-and the dishes-off the table at lunch. The book has a wonderfully effective cumulative structure: after the first incident, Harriet's mother reproves her (""Harriet, my darling child""); the reproof grows longer and less gentle as her mother's patience is tested to the limit (""Harriet, my darling child. Harriet, you'll drive me wild. Harriet, sweetheart, what are we to do? Harriet Harris, I'm talking to you""). The illustrations add much to this cumulative (yet deteriorating) set-up, as the first reproof takes place sweetly on Harriet's mother's lap; the last in Harriet's bedroom, with a clearly had-it mother shaking her arm, and a scowling Harriet trying to shut out her mother's voice with her pillow. One more mishap at naptime (a feather-filled pillow exuberantly ripped open) causes the book's structure-and Harriet's mother-to explode. ""There was a terrible silence. / Then Harriet's mother began to yell. She yelled and yelled and yelled."" Author and illustrator underscore both how destructive such parental behavior is (Harriet, small and stooped and sobbing, is no match for the onslaught of her mother's almost palpable anger) and how understandable (""I shouldn't have yelled, and I wish I hadn't. But sometimes it happens, just like that""). Frazee, illustrator of The Seven Silly Eaters (rev. 5/97) and Hush, Little Baby (rev. 11/99), has once again designed a complete picture book, opening with a prophetic vignette of Harriet's mother startled out of her morning-coffee revelry by some off-screen Harriet noise and ending (on the back jacket) with a cozy spot illustration of peace: the family dog curled up happily on the mended pillow. A most successful team effort that is welcome for its acceptance of both a child's penchant for trouble and a parent's occasional outbursts-both happen, ""just like that,"" and both will be forgiven. m.v.p. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Fox offers a wry look at the often-tumultuous life of a toddler and her harried mother. Harriet is a typical young child: spilled juice, sticky jam, and broken crockery follow in her wake over the course of an ordinary day. Her mom tries very hard not to yell or get upset; after all, Harriet is always genuinely sorry. Yet, when Harriet's pillow bursts during "quiet" time, so does her mother's temper. In the aftermath of the outburst, mother and daughter apologize and the tale ends on an upbeat note as the two recognize the silliness of their situation and, feather-bedecked, clean up the room. Fox's brief sentences capture the essence of everyday childhood catastrophes, e.g., "At lunch, Harriet slid off her chair and the tablecloth came with her, just like that." Young children can appreciate Harriet's predicament as she unintentionally wreaks havoc everywhere she goes. Fox's sympathetic tale reassures readers that mistakes and angry outbursts do not alter the loving relationship between parent and child. Frazee's lively illustrations sparkle as each of Harriet's little episodes is depicted in humorous detail. Clearly drawn and colorful, they are a witty counterpart to the story. The story, insightful and with ample doses of gentle humor, should prove a soothing balm for exasperated moms and their busy little bees. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
