Alone!

PreS-Gr 1--Reminiscent of Ann McGovern's Too Much Noise, this rhyme is about redheaded, white, antisocial Billy McGill who enjoys living alone. The boy's house is on top of a hill where he lives peacefully until the day he hears a mouse. In order to rid his quiet home of the pest, Billy goes into town and brings back a cat. But, since the cat likes to play chase with the mouse, Billy decides a dog is needed. Perfectly scanning rhymes tell of assault after assault on Billy's peace: a Black veterinarian, planning to cure a tiger's cold by knitting him a sweater, a brown-skinned hairdresser who's there to shear the sheep, and a winsome brown baby who will not stop crying. Billy finds even more solitude in a spot where it's all a bit too silent. Humorous brightly hued illustrations fill the pages with color and movement while the text changes in size and shape adding to the engaging tale. VERDICT Readers will love the tumultuous crescendo of Billy's circumstances and then his tidy, peace-inducing solution in this entertaining story of unexpected consequences.--Maryann H. Owen, Oak Creek P.L., WI

A young hermit learns that sometimes there's more to life than being alone. Cumulative in structure if not in narrative pattern, the rhymed tale begins with young Billy McGill living alone at the top of a hill. That is, until the arrival of a mouse requires getting a cat, then a dog, then a bear, then a tiger. The tiger has a cold, so next to arrive is a vet, who prescribes knitting a wool sweater. This requires a sheep, of course, which a hairdresser volunteers to shear if someone will mind his baby. The arrival of a wild thunderstorm to crank up the domestic hubbub proves the last straw, and Billy is driven out to seek a new, far-off refuge. This gives him time for second thoughts, and so back he goes to clean up the mess--"There was noise and confusion / (and poop) EVERYWHERE, / and the sheep was asleep / with the bear on the chair"--and send everyone away. Ah, peace and quiet once again…except on Tuesdays, when all come back for a serene and cozy get-together. Ann McGovern and Simms Taback's venerable (and still in print) Too Much Noise (1967) features a tighter chain of logic and more opportunity for audience participation, but Falls fills the illustrations with comically posed creatures and a racially diverse set of supporting human characters (Billy presents White). The pleasures of socializing may be put on hold just now, but an occasional reminder never hurts. (Picture book. 6-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.