An Evening At Alfies

Absolutely delightful, my 3 year old kids love all the drama in the book. After reading the book, they are open to spending some time with a baby sitter (we have never left them with a baby sitter yet) at home. However, I personally don't agree with one sentence in the book where it says the baby sitter was doing homework in front of the television. I would not let my kids do their homework in front of the television when they get to that age.

I am so happy to see this classic book is back in print in the U.S. I think even last year it was out of print here. We wanted to buy a copy for one of the children's teachers who was having a baby because this is an all time favorite of our family. The illustrations are so beautiful and the story is just a sweet slice of life from an evening in a house with a preschool age boy and his toddler sister. It is a treasure.

Alfie's parents are out for the evening, and Maureen, a teenaged babysitter, is in charge when a pipe bursts. She brings her parents over. All of the characters demonstrate admirable qualities: Maureen demonstrates respect for her parents and humility in asking for help, and her parents show love of neighbor as they exert tremendous effort to stop the water, clean up the mess, and care for the children. Following the climactic turning of the water main, Alfie turns from the excitement of the water to comfort his little sister, and helps the adults figure out why she is crying. Another tender story of child-size drama, told in a way young children can understand.

Alfie has an interesting problem at his house (the water pipe breaks) while his sitter is with him and his little sister. Water drips from the ceiling and begins to make a huge mess. The sitter and her parents along with Alfie's help take care of the problem. Not one of our all-time favorite stories, but one we enjoy from time-to-time.