Harriet, You'll Drive Me Wild

Harriet, You'll Drive Me Wild
Mem Fox
Marala Franzee
Harcourt Books, 2000
Fiction, Clumsiness, Temper, Mother & Daughter
Age 4-8

Harriet Harris is a "pesky child", she did not mean to be so pesky, she just could not help it. At breakfast she knocked over a cup of juice. When snack time came she got jam all over he,r jeans. Even before lunch she made a mess, she dripped paint all over the carpet. When lunch got there she slid out of her chair and took the table cloth with her. At nap time she ripped a blanket apart sending feathers everywhere. Her mother did not like to yell so up until now she had just said to Harriet that she drives her wild and asked her what they were to do. Well finally her mother cracked and started to yell and yell at Harriet. Harriet gave her sincerest apology and her mother knew that she meant it and she apologized for yelling at her. They started to laugh and they laughed the whole time they were cleaning up the feathers.

This is great book for talking about being clumsy and not meaning to be. Also another important lesson a child could take from this book is apologizing for making a mess, even when they do not mean to. It shows a great relationship between a mother and daughter! It shows how both parents and children can make mistakes. It can portray that a mom can lose her temper and explains why they might yell at the child. This could help children to understand if there mom or dad sometimes yells are them. There is also a cute dog that is in every illustration. The pictures were done using pencil and transparent drawing inks on Stanthmore paper and finished on a hot press. They were single page spread style and there typically was a lot of white space around the picture, and generally in the whole book. They were pretty small in size but they were quite detailed in and of themselves. Over all I think this book would be a great read at home but it would also be useful in the classroom. Talking about respect and trying to do ones best. Hopefully Harriet and her mom do not have this kind of day everyday, that is liable to drive her mother crazy, ha!