Eileen Christelow

Eileen Christelow adapts the traditional children's rhyme and sidesteps the gruesome tally of deaths by alligator implicit in the original but still manages to cruelly torture the monkeys' mother in the process. I can see kids having fun figuring out how the trick works and spotting monkeys hidden throughout the book, but again I just feel so bad for the mother who is made the butt of the joke.

Also, in recent years, there has been some pushback against this particular nursery rhyme due to show more its racist origins and ties to a practice called alligator baiting. There is some debate over whether Black children were actually used by white hunters as bait to draw alligators out of the swamp, but there is no doubting that it became a racist trope played for laughs in media like postcards and songs. For more details on this topic, check out these links:
https://www.snopes.com/news/2017/06/09/black-children-alligator-bait/
https://abagond.wordpress.com/2010/08/11/alligator-bait/ show less

That birdbrained fowl Glenda Feathers returns in this second picture-book devoted to her adventures, following up on her experience with diamond thieves in The Robbery at the Diamond Dog Diner. Driving by Miss Marvel's Witch Agency, Glenda sees a help wanted sign and decides that this is the job for her. Miss Marvel is skeptical, especially when Glenda's spells all go awry, but decides to give her a chance. But when Glenda's first job, using her door opening spells at the bank, embroils her show more in a bank robbery, it looks like the proprietor of the magical agency may have been right...

Glenda Feathers Casts a Spell is one of two picture-books from author/illustrator Eileen Christelow, creator of the popular Five Little Monkeys series, to feature this scatterbrained chicken character and her inadvertent involvement in the criminal world. It is a book I sought out largely because of its witchy content, and on the whole I found it a fun little bit of picture-book fluff. I think I enjoyed it slightly more than its predecessor, but then, the witchy content was pretty much guaranteed to appeal to me. Although I wouldn't say that the artwork—created using gouache, colored pencil, crayon and watercolor—was exactly my style, I did love Christelow's use of color here. All in all, I would recommend this one (like the first) to picture-book readers who enjoy madcap tales, animal fiction, or witchy hi-jinks. show less

Jerome the Alligator returns in this second picture book devoted to his adventures, following upon Jerome the Babysitter, once again determined to make a go of his babysitting. Although it is Halloween night, Jerome is busy working on posters advertising his services, and is not tempted in the slightest by his sister Winifred and her friend Lulu's advice that he come trick-or-treating. When he receives a message instructing him to go to the old yellow house on the edge of the swamp, in order show more to babysit Mrs. Witchcraft's two children, he is somewhat puzzled, as he thought the house deserted, but sets out regardless. What follows is the creepiest babysitting job ever, watching over the witchy Lucy and Lucifer, while keeping a mindful ear on the ghost upstairs. But is all as it seems...?

The answer to that should be obvious to attentive readers, both from Winifred's suspicious behavior just before leaving the house, and by some of the sly looks exchanged by Lucy and Lucifer in the illustrations, but the story in Jerome and the Witchcraft Kids is entertaining, for all that. Between the spooky shenanigans that go on in the yellow house, and the eventual reveal that it is all a prank being played by Winifred, Lulu and Lulu's siblings, not to mention the colorful, expressive artwork, this would make a good selection for a Halloween story-hour. Although slightly disappointed to find that the witchy content wasn't what I expected—in truth, I sought this book and its predecessor out precisely because of the witchy content—I still enjoyed the visuals of little alligators in witch gear. This is one I would recommend to picture book readers looking for Halloween stories that are one part scary and one part funny. Those who, like me, prefer their witches to be real, are also recommended to seek out Byron Barton's Hester, the story of another alligator at Halloween time. show less

Determined to make some money, Jerome the alligator asks his older sister Winifred to let him work for her babysitting service. Reluctant at first, Winifred eventually consents when Mrs. Gatorman—the mother of nine mischievous little gators—calls for a sitter. After all, taking care of those little pranksters might convince her brother to give up babysitting. Jerome is made of stronger stuff however, and after being the victim of a number of pranks from the Gator children, decides it's show more time to turn the tables...

The first of three picture-books dedicated to the adventures of this little alligator with a can-do attitude—subsequent titles are Jerome and the Witchcraft Kids and Jerome Camps Out—Jerome the Babysitter pairs an engaging story with colorful, humorous illustrations. Author/artist Eileen Christelow is best known as the creator of the immensely popular Five Little Monkeys picture-book series, although my own reading of her work is confined to her stories about that clueless fowl, Glenda Feathers. As it happens, I tracked this one down because of my interest in its sequel, Jerome and the Witchcraft Kids, which I believe has some witchy content (always of interest to me), but I ended up enjoying it for its own sake. Recommended to picture-book readers and listeners who enjoy humorous stories about naughty children (ahem! I mean gators) and the pranks they play. show less