Maya Was Grumpy

Flashlight Press

 Courtney Pippin-Mathur

Maya is having a bad hair day. Her wild red hair reflects her mood… cantankerous and smoldering. She isn’t sure why she’s in a grumpy mood; she just is. And she wants to make sure everyone around her knows it. She mopes through the house, scowling and grumbling, trying to infect the pet cat, her brothers, and even the birds outside, to no avail. Maya’s bad mood is ignored, which only makes her grumpier.

In a last ditch effort to share her grouchiness, Maya attempts to get a rise out of her grandma. Gramma’s silly comments at first infuriate Maya, but then Maya begins to succumb and eventually resorts to giggling at Gramma’s fantastical suggestions that they spend the day swinging with the monkeys and tickling tarantulas. Gramma fixes Maya’s hair, and off they go to enjoy the day. 

I love Pippin-Mathur’s illustrations. She perfectly captures the facial expressions of an obstinate little girl who is determined to have a bad day. It’s clever how she uses Maya’s hair as a symbol of feeling out of control, and then transforms it into cute, fun pigtails as Maya’s mood improves. And all parents can learn a thing or two from Gramma, who remains cool and calm throughout.

Maya Was Grumpy is Pippin-Mathur’s first picture book. It’s an entertaining read for young children, and is sure to bring forth smiles from parents as well. I hope a few Maya sequels are in the works.

Reviewed by Leslie. Review copy provided by Flashlight Press. 

The Busy Life of Ernestine Buckmeister

Flashlight Press

Linda Ravin Lodding; Illustrated by Suzanne Beaky

Ernestine Buckmeister leads a life that few of us would envy. For starters, she is saddled with one heck of a name. Worse, her parents seem to live by the adage that "idle hands are the devil's handiwork" and schedule Ernestine's life accordingly. This kid is as busy as if she were holding down a full time job! Actually, it's more like two full time jobs - Nanny O' Dear is around to keep Ernestine on track.

Ernestine has a different after-school activity every day of the week. Her week is comprised of the following: sculpting, water ballet, knitting, tuba lessons, and yodeling. The weekends are neatly wrapped up in karate and yoga. In between school, homework and her rigorous extracurricular activities, Ernestine has zero free time. She does however, have a gigantic white board spanning an entire wall in her room for her schedule. Ernestine is sitting in bed one night, staring at this very thing that represents her over-scheduled life ... when she has a revelation.

The next day, Ernestine casually announces to Nanny that she will be skipping yodeling for a new activity in the park. The two spend their afternoon running through the trees, making daisy crowns, and building a twig fort. Meanwhile, the parental Buckmeisters are alerted to Ernestine's yodeling absence and are desperately trying to locate her. They frantically run from class to class, but knitting, karate, water ballet, sculpting, yoga, and tuba all yield the same result - no Ernestine. Exhausted, they finally bump into their rosy-cheeked daughter in the park on their way home. Once the Buckmeisters realize how greatly Ernestine benefits from not having every minute of her day scheduled, the whole family slows down.

I like all the little details and bits of humor tucked in here. Most obviously, the author links names with activities, with Mr. Oompah teaching tuba lessons while Mrs. Pearl Stitchem handles knitting. You'll have to look a bit closer to notice the post-it note accidentally clamped to Nanny's hat, the yodeling teacher's goat gnawing on anything he can reach, or the lump of clay stuck to Mrs. Buckmeister's bottom. Overall, extremely cute and a nice little reminder for overzealous parents.    

Review copy provided by Flashlight Press. 

I Always, Always Get My Way

Flashlight Press
Thad Krasnesky; Illustrated by David Parkins

This story is about a little girl named Emmy, who happens to be a very precocious three year old. She is also a smart little girl who immediately picks up on the idea that she can get away with all sorts of trouble because ... she is only three.

The initial incident truly is a accident when Emmy innocently spills her orange juice on the breakfast table. Of course, the juice runs straight to her Dad's pants, who has a few choice words about his daughter's carelessness. Emmy's mom comes to her rescue when she utters the magic words "Now, sweetheart, you should let it be. After all ... she's only three." Voila. Emmy learns the power of the perfect excuse.


Now that Emmy has caught on, there is no end in sight to her mischief making. Since three year olds are not held responsible for their own actions, little Emmy can cause all sorts of mischief and mayhem with no consequences. Oh, boy. She takes her older sister's things without permission, digs a gigantic hole in the backyard, muddies up her mum's nice chair and eats ice cream concoctions for breakfast.


All the trouble Emmy creates comes crashing down about her shoulders when she tries to use her "little girl" excuse one too many times. Suddenly her family realizes that Emmy is old enough to know better and to be held accountable for her actions when she behaves inappropriately. No more free passes!

What a perfect book about a very important lesson that mommies and daddies, er, young children need to learn. Picking up this book is a surefire way to teach this particular lesson in a painless way. You can enjoy the rhyming text paired with funny, imaginative illustrations and feel good about the message imparted!

Review copy provided by Flashlight Press.