Synopsis
This loving and humorous story depicts frustrated Hannah, who tries to get her mother to call her by her real name rather than the pet names she uses.
Publishers Weekly
In Williams's first book for children, wide-eyed Hannah is convinced that her mother doesn't know her own daughter's name, since she seems to call her every possible appellation except Hannah. When Mommy wakes Hannah in the morning, she asks: ``Is that my little chickadee?'' Hannah, envisioning herself with a bird's beak, insists, ``I'm not a chickadee. I'm Hannah.'' As the day progresses, Mommy employs an assortment of pet names, and each time a distraught-looking Hannah corrects her. Throughout, Shachat's somewhat childlike acrylic paintings depict the girl in the guise of the objects or creatures cited--pumpkin, devil, alligator, monster, monkey and mouse. Children may be a bit unsettled by the book's title, and their discomfort will only be increased by the fact that Hannah is clearly not amused by her mother's attempts to be affectionate. At bedtime, of course, mother assures daughter that she is well aware that Hannah is her ``very own happy little, funny little girl.'' Ages 2-8. (Oct.)