PICTURE BOOK REVIEW: Who Made This Mess? by Laura Gehl, illustrated by Aleksandar Stojsic
ABOUT THE BOOK
Mud splattered everywhere, tangled-up wool in huge piles, and carrot tops strewn about--what in the world is happening in this animal village? It's quite a mystery! But thanks to rhyming clues, everyone will be able to easily guess the animal culprits--or will they? In this laugh-out-loud, expectation-defying picture book, Laura Gehl (May Saves the Day and The Hiking Viking) uses a rhyming mystery to help readers adjust their outlook, keep an open mind, and learn not to make assumptions.
REVIEW
Books with fun surprises like this one make for laugh-out-loud story times. The way the text is written, the reader immediately feels like the answer is obvious as a rhyme, but it turns out that such assumptions are completely wrong. The answers about which creature made which mess are not only unexpected, but the text reads naturally funny. For example, the story starts off with, "Loud MOOs in the night gave Farmer a fright. Who made the loud moos? Just follow the clues. I'll show you now, it was a..." The natural response is 'cow', but it's not a cow. Highlighting for readers the dangers of making assumptions based on only a couple of clues, the author not only elicits laughs but teaches an important lesson as well. Stojsic's cartoon-like illustrations perfectly match the light-hearted tone of the text. The pauses on each page turn give the reader or listener the perfect opportunity to try to guess what is coming next. A delight from beginning to unexpected end.
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