Mr. Tuggle's Trouble

Poor Mr. Tuggle is having a bad week. It all begins on Monday when he can't find his hat. It would have come in handy when that pigeon flew over his head. The missing hat is just the beginning, however. Each morning begins with a promise of a new day, and each day brings more trouble to Mr. Tuggle. This comic tale by LeeAnn Blankenship features an endearing, Chaplinesque character brought to life with madcap illustrations by Karen Dugan.

As more and more of his clothes go missing, Mr. Toggle finds himself wearing a strange assortment of items until he finally realizes what he has to do.

Poor Mr. Tuggle is having a bad week.

It all begins on Monday, when he can't find his hat, which would have been mighty handy when that pigeon flew over his head.

But the missing hat is just the start of Mr. Tuggle's week. From then on, each morning begins with the promise of a new day, and each day brings more trouble to Mr. Tuggle.

LeeAnn Blankenship's comic tale features an endearing, Chaplinesque character, brought to life with madcap illustrations by Karen Dugan.

Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz - Children's Literature

Poor, disorganized Mr. Tuggle. He begins his week on Monday unable to find his hat amid the chaos of his house. When a pigeon bombs him on a park bench, he realizes he needs a hat, and makes a newspaper one. On Tuesday it is his shoes he cannot find. When his bare feet get stepped on, he ties boxes on his feet. On Wednesday, he substitutes curtains for his missing shirt. Thursday a picture from the wall protects him from the rain instead of his missing umbrella. By now he makes quite an amusing appearance. In desperation, he cleans up at home and manages to find all the lost clothes. He faces Friday confident all will be well. The last page is a wordless joke. Although the text is a spare, straightforward exposition, the visual narrative is anything but. Dugan's detailed watercolors visualize the comic tale in assorted bursts of action, beginning with a scene of our hero getting up from his rumpled bed, shared with three cats, and surrounded by cluttered tables, floor strewn with all kinds of stuff. The frantic search, where he is seen three times, exposes his room as a disaster zone. His daily bus ride adds drama. He stands while the seats are occupied each morning by the same passengers, who change their reactions according to his wildly-changing appearance. An encouragement here to heed the perpetual parental request to "clean your room!" 2005, Boyds Mills Press, Ages 4 to 8.

Background: LeeAnn has had stories published in Highlights and Cricket. She is under contract with Boyds Mills Press for Mr. Tuggle's Troubles, was named Highlights "Author of the Month" in March 2003, and received an honorable mention in the creative nonfiction category of the Best of Ohio Writers in 1998. LeeAnn, who earned a bachelor's degree in elementary education from West Virginia Wesleyan College and did graduate work in early childhood education at the University of Maryland, has taught elementary school and is a licensed social worker. Who am I? "I am a young teen trapped in a 58-year-old body! Some of the things I love are children, the out-of-doors, starry nights and the full moon, lively music, marching bands, and carousels, horseback riding, porch swings, laughter, and strong, long-lasting hugs from my husband and children. I love the exhilarating feeling when the first draft of something I've written is finished. I love the polishing, revising, and crafting to make it shine." My favorite character from children's literature is: "Corduroy because he is so cuddly in appearance and has such a sweet innocence about him."

Karen Dugan has worked on more than twenty-five books, eight with Boyds Mills Press, including If I Had a Snowplow by Jean L. S. Patrick and Tea Party Today: Poems to Sip and Savor by Eileen Spinelli. She lives in North Attleboro, Massachusetts.