Synopsis
A discussion between a boy and his parents about a bedroom, that is so dirty he would "have to clean up just to call it a mess," ends with a blast.
School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 3-"What's with this room?" ask the parents of a bespectacled, sheepish-looking little boy in this silly romp through the messiest mess since The Cat in the Hat came to visit. The parents go on to list the room's many disgusting features, including both the predictable (yesterday's lunch, a pair of underpants hanging from the fan) and the absurd (a closet full of local wildlife, including some alleged "gnu poo"). They demand an explanation. The inventive child claims that everything serves a unique educational purpose: "That isn't just vermin down under the rugs,/I'm studying a family of misbehaved bugs." The high gross factor, combined with the clever humor, will keep most children in rapt attention. A few of the jokes are too sophisticated for the audience, but they will give perceptive adults a chuckle. The brightly hued, mixed-media cartoon art is fanciful and filled with nasty details that children will enjoy pointing out. The only problem with the book is that the rhymed couplets are sometimes clunky and overloaded with syllables, but this is a minor quibble. When you read it aloud, possibly paired with Rosemary Wells's Max Cleans Up (Viking, 2000), the kids will be too busy laughing to notice.-Rachael Vilmar, Atlanta Fulton Public Library, GA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.