This cause-and-effect tale with a catchy rhythm begins with a green-eyed, red-pig-tailed girl shouting: “Please don’t slam the door! / Don’t slam that old screen door! / A slamming door will wake the cat, / and heaven knows, we don’t want that, / so please don’t slam that door!” Of course, the hound dog does let the screen door slam, and the cat, unceremoniously awakened, wreaks havoc on Ma’s yarn. Ma knits the tangled yarn into socks for Pa, who, disturbed by their lumpiness, bumps the bees. The chaos continues to spread, despite the girl’s best efforts to rein it in, until the house is filled with frenzied animals. She shoos them all away with a stern warning NOT to slam the door on their way out! Hillenbrand’s charming mixed-media illustrations place just the right amount of surprise and chagrin on the characters’ faces and greatly add to the fun. The climactic spread, in which the little girl gives everyone from bees and bear to cows and cat what-for, is a marvel of composition. Begs to be read aloud one-on-one and shared in a storytime setting. (Picture book. 4-8)
