4 out of 4 stars
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They’re Waiting for Me is a children’s book written and illustrated by Ernie Harker. The story focuses on a young girl’s aversion to doing household chores on a Saturday morning. She knows she can’t go outside and play with her friends until her tasks are done. Still, that doesn’t stop her from trying to avoid her assigned responsibilities. Each chore is shown as a character, and the girl hopes she can make them disappear through various methods, such as counting to 100, throwing a tantrum, etc.
This well-written, fun story is told completely in rhyme, with a traditional rhyme scheme. Each stanza consists of four lines with the second and fourth lines rhyming. The writing has a natural flow and there is no awkward phrasing used in order to fit into the rhyme scheme. Although the story is generally easy to understand, there are a few words or phrases that are a bit sophisticated for a child – for example, the word “budge” and the description of the girl’s usual secret weapon as “a third-degree black belt in whine and complain.”
Written in first person, the book is narrated by the main character. I enjoyed this style, as it felt like the girl was speaking directly to the reader. However, the main issue I had was that the girl has no name. This gave a somewhat impersonal feel to the story. In general, I think children are able to relate better to named characters.
The colorful and vivid illustrations really make the book shine. Each chore is depicted as a person or animal wearing a costume and props to indicate the particular chore. For example, “Pick-up-your toys” is shown as a toy dinosaur with the head of a woman and who is holding a crayon. The chore “people” are suspended in mid-air and add a whimsical, almost magical feel to the story.
Most of the pages contain only four short lines of text which is ideal for children who are learning to read independently. Also, the pictures provide good visual clues, as the artwork ties in perfectly with what’s occurring on each page of the story.
I give this book a rating of 4 out of 4 stars. The author has taken a common, timeless topic of kids not wanting to do chores, and turned it into a creative and entertaining story. I would recommend this book to children ages 4-8. It would be a good choice for teachers and parents to read aloud, particularly with such cute illustrations. Hopefully, the younger set will be inspired to do their chores after reading this book!
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They're Waiting For Me
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