Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Martha, No!
Illustrator: Deborah Allwright
Picture Book
For ages 4 to 6
EgmontUSA, 2012 ISBN: 978-1606842669
Today Martha Felicity Molly-Anne May is going to meet her “sparkling new nanny.” Miss Harrington-Chive is going to take care of Martha for the day, and she is confident that she and Martha will do just fine. After all, Nanny has looked after “hundreds of children.” Nanny does not heed Mother’s warning about Martha’s tendency to scare nannies off, convinced that “angelic” Martha is going to be no problem at all.
They are not out long before Nanny finds out that Martha is rather a handful. In the park she gets blown out of a sousaphone, in the museum she climbs the T. Rex, and at lunchtime she tries to spin pizza dough with disastrous results.
One would think that a playground would be a safe place to take Martha, but Nanny soon finds out that it is not the case when Martha digs a tunnel from the sandpit into the middle of a busy street. Is this nanny going to throw in the towel just like all the other nannies did?
Children are going to laugh out loud when they see what Martha does, and how she drives her new nanny to distraction. Here is a little girl who knows what she wants, and who is not afraid to do what she wants. Heaven help any adult who tries to tame her.
With wonderfully amusing illustrations and a story that will resonate with children, this is a picture book that will become a firm favorite with young readers.
