Just Being Me #3: I LOVE Messes!

Most children love making messes. It's an adventure in exploring the depths and reaches of creativity. Some messes are little ones but the messes in I Love Messes! by Robie Harris grow bigger with each page turned. Red magic marker on tables and faces is one thing, but drawing on the table with yogurt, smashing an egg on the floor along with milk, catsup and mustard and dancing in it is another. Daddy is not happy about the messes and explains appropriate behavior to his daughter. And then father and daughter clean up the mess together. And when sleep overcomes the girl who likes messes, guess what she dreams about! I liked I Love Messes! because it is from the viewpoint of the child. And I appreciated the involved father who listened, explained and understood. The illustrations are colorful, lively and inviting. Children will love this book. Armchair Interviews says: A fun read, but following the read, further explanation with your child about making messes might be a good idea! It might save you from a really big surprise.

In this little read we find a little girl who loves to make a mess and she does a good job in this story. She draws red dots on her face and invades the refrigerator where the real fun begins as she makes circles with raspberry yogurt. Soon both the little girl, her dog and the kitchen is anything but clean. Daddy is not pleased, but we find in this story that he understands his daughters desire to learn through making a mess. Gently he talks to her and explains messes are okay to a degree and if we make a mess, we must also clean it up. Very colorful, cute illustrations that definitely add to the story.

The fabulous illustrations in this darling book delight small children, who have a way of making a mess of themselves, literally. Jessie loves messes. She's into crayons that color the edges of her paper and keep going--onto the table--and big red dots on her face and hands. She can't contain her yogurt in a cup; it spills. Her dad says, "How about a carrot, my Messy Jessie? A carrot's not messy." When he runs to answer the door, he comes back to find that she has dropped an egg on the floor, dumped out the milk, catsup and mustard, stepped in them, and is dancing about singing "Messy Jessie!"The cat and dog lap up the mess, making footprints and pawprints all over the floor. "This isn't funny," says a dad losing patience. She takes a bath and goes to bed. "I love you my Messy Jessie," says her dad. But she even dreams of messes. The message is real for children of a certain age. And of course, it's the dad who takes care of the messes. Alyssa A. Lappen