Let's Clean Up!

From the Publisher

"Told in rhyme...this all-around fun story for preschoolers is a good choice for beginning readers." School Library Journal

"The simple, rhyming text will appeal to both story-hour groups and beginning readers." —Booklist Booklist, ALA

Children's Literature - Marilyn Courtot

What kid has not heard mom say—"clean up your room." In this story, Joe's mom tidies up his room. He thinks it is great, because now he has so much more room to play. Well, his play puts the room right back into its messy state. It is too much for mom and she begins to cry. Joe takes her hand, sits her down, and heads back to his room with the broom. He gets it clean in a jiffy and mom soon discovers why. When readers look out the window with Mom and Joe, they too will see why. The two of them then clean up the toys from the backyard. Joe has tried to be helpful, but gets no gold star for this solution. The illustrations are quite amusing and the story and its pictures lose nothing in this transition to an early reader. A level 1 book in the "Green Light Readers" series. It is also identified as Guided Reading E, Reading Recovery 7-8, and has an interest level for grades K-2. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot

Publishers Weekly

A mother frog tackles the bedroom of her sloppy son in Let's Clean Up! by Peggy Perry Anderson, a companion to Out to Lunch. Before long, the little amphibian's room returns to ruin; his unorthodox attempts to clean it up himself bring humorous results. (Mar.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Children's Literature

What kid hasn't heard mom say—clean up your room. In this story mom tidies up Joe's room. He thinks it is great, because now he has so much more room to play. Well, his play puts the room right back into its messy state. It is too much for mom and she begins to cry. Joe takes her hand, sits her down, and heads back to his room with the broom. He gets it clean in a jiffy and mom soon discovers why. When readers look out the window with Mom and Joe, they will see why. The two of them then clean up the toys from the backyard. Joe has tried to be helpful, but gets no gold star for this solution. 2002, Houghton Mifflin,
— Marilyn Courtot

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 1-Like Jonathan London's Froggy, Joe is joyful and innocently mischievous. After his mother cleans his room, the little frog is so excited about having space to play and finding his toys that he messes it up again. Feeling guilty, he offers to pick up after himself and throws everything out the window. Mother doesn't get angry-she helps Joe restore order. The brightly colored cartoon drawings on white backgrounds include acute attention to details like the escaped pet lizard on nearly every spread and the names of the games in the closet. Told in rhyme, with essentially one easy sentence in large type per page, this all-around fun story for preschoolers is a good choice for beginning readers as well.-Sharon R. Pearce, Geronimo Public School, OK Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Anderson's brightly colored cartoon art perks up this ages-old tale: Clean rooms are made to be messed. A clean room lets you find your toys, so you can pull them from their shelves and boxes and play with them, and-you bet-dump them on the floor and under the bed and anywhere your attention gets distracted by another fun object. Which is exactly what Joe the young frog does after his mother spiffs up his chamber. "I have room to ride my train. / I have room to fly my planes," yodels Joe. And he does just that, as well as set up his car racing set-wow, where did that come from?-and fly his rocket and bounce on a bed that heretofore looked liked an overstuffed Dumpster. When his mother returns to his room, she has a look on her face that signals a distinct lack of oxygen. Says Joe, "Don't worry, Mom. I have the broom." He also has a very handy open window. He requests his mom leave the room and when he invites her back, why, there isn't a toy out of place. In the room, anyway, though the backyard could use some cleaning. Same as it ever was, and what can you do but laugh, asks Anderson, whose boy frog has dined in a restaurant, thwarted a babysitter, and avoided a bath in earlier adventures (Out to Lunch, 1998, etc.). Sure, a little cooperation makes the cleaning go that much faster. But, mom or dad shall ever push the broom, at least in the proper direction. A cautionary tale-for parents. (Picture book. 3-7)