Now What Can I Do? - Hardcover

Margaret Park Bridges is also the author of Am I Big or Little?, If I Were Your Mother, and If I Were Your Father. She lives in Littleton, Massachusetts. Melissa Sweet is the illustrator of many books, including Bouncing Time, Love and Kisses, and Bat Jamboree. She lives in Rockport, Maine.

reS-K-While this story is predictable, young listeners and their parents will be amused to find their own experiences so clearly mirrored in this cheerful vignette of everyday life. Written as an extended dialogue between mother and child, the narrative moves from morning to night on a rainy day. Stuck inside, a young raccoon tidies his room, helps fold laundry, reads a book, sets the table for dinner, and eventually prepares to snuggle down in bed. Each activity is transformed in his imagination (with a little prompting from Mom). Making his bed turns into a seafaring adventure with a boat, whose sails "fold up neatly when the wind is calm." A full-page illustration contrasts each imagined activity (a basketball game and a trip to Mars, among others) with the mundane reality. Sweet's bright acrylic illustrations are charmingly childlike, with slightly distorted perspectives and entertaining details. They expand the text, which at times can seem repetitive and overly long. Children will especially enjoy checking out the artwork created by the young raccoon to enhance his creative play. While this may not be a prime candidate for repeated readings, children will enjoy poring over the pictures and may even be inspired to imagine ways to make their own chores a bit more entertaining.

Lisa Dennis, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA

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