TULIP'S MESS

Small clutter adds up over time.

Tulip, a pale-skinned, dark-haired child, has a knack for creating mess. What starts with an errant candy wrapper or two and a loose sock quickly becomes utter chaos. Her “little Mess,” personified as a swirling cloud of gray scribbles with eyes and a mouth, feeds off the constant trail of food, pencil shavings, and dirty clothes. The Mess grows bigger as time passes and soon becomes unmanageable. When Tulip’s favorite plush cat, Ta, gets lost in the overwhelming disarray, she dives in to retrieve her friend, emerging with Ta—and the realization that cleanliness and order are important. Writing in short, staccato sentences, Wilder avoids the preachiness of similar tales, acknowledging how easy it can be to let mess take over one’s life but reassuring readers that, step by step, the chaos can be conquered. Happily, she makes clear that a little messiness is OK; the tale concludes with an image of Tulip drawing while smiling down at a beaming, much smaller Mess. Wilder’s expressive gouache illustrations, many set against stark white backgrounds, use scale and perspective to convey the Mess’ increasingly intrusive presence.

A satisfying primer on staying organized that, refreshingly, gives kids the space to still be themselves.