Mary Alice, Operator Number 9

As an early elementary school teacher, I read a lot of children's books. Mary Alice is one of my all-time favorites. She is a very efficient telephone operator who tells people the time. "At the tone, the time will be 1 o'clock exactly. Quack". (Did I mention, she's a duck?) Mary Alice catches a cold so Boss Chicken insists that she go home to take care of herself. Her boss tries to assure her the position could easily be filled by someone, but Mary Alice is hurt by the remarks and frets over someone permanently replacing her. Boss Chicken interviews and hires a series of different operators, who, for various reasons, don't fit the bill (no pun intended). The snake hisses and scares the customers, the dog can't tell time, an armandillo has trouble seeing the clock, and the beaver is so eager that she can't wait for people to call her so SHE calls them. In the end, Boss Chicken fully understands the difficulty of the job and appreciates Mary Alice. The story and the pictures are wonderfully funny. I especially love the picture of Mary Alice wearing her pink bunny slippers. What makes this story even better is that it lends itself to dramatic storytelling. I use different voices for the various characters in the story. My kids and I thoroughly enjoy Mary Alice Operator Number 9 and I know you will, too.