Mrs. McNosh and the Great Big Squash - Softcover

PreSchool-KAAs soon as Mrs. Nelly McNosh pushes a seed into the soil, it starts to grow into a fat and bumpy squash. It rolls out of the garden flattening the cat, crashing through the clothesline, knocking over trash cans, and scaring the pants off two elderly gents. "Poor Nelly was worried./She said, 'Oh my gosh,/there's got to be some way/to slow down this squash." After wondering what to do with the huge vegetable, the woman has an idea. She scoops and scrapes all night long, and when morning comes, she is curled up in a chair sleeping in her new squash house. This simple plot does not develop the tensions or motivations needed for a satisfying story. Why, for example, did Mrs. McNosh work desperately all night long to make a new house? The rhyming text creates a lighthearted bounce, but some of the rhymes seem forced. The watercolor-and-ink cartoon illustrations provide humor and a clear sense of action and movement. Perhaps some young listeners will enjoy the silliness of a giant, out-of-control plant tamed for a cozy place to sleep, but the undeveloped story line will limit the book's general appeal.
Adele Greenlee, Bethel College, St. Paul, MN
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