EATING UP GLADYS

A bossy older sister gets served her comeuppance in this tasty tale. Younger Hilda and Rose are fed up with Gladys’s overbearing ways, and they’re jealous of all the perks of being the oldest: a private room, late nights and being in charge when mom and dad are gone. Margot Zemach’s recounting of sibling dynamics is on target; she skillfully captures the essence of bossy older sisters and plays it out in a comic scenario. At their wits’ end with Gladys, the sisters concoct a plan to cook her up for dinner—in true Grimm fashion. However, the pair’s machinations are more vaudevillian than macabre. When, through a series of mishaps, Gladys ends up stuck in a pot, the younger sisters are given an opportunity to try out being responsible for the baby and supper and Gladys is fed while still stuck in the pot. Kaethe Zemach’s ink-and-watercolor illustrations are homespun and poignant with an underlying comical edge to them. This wry tale with its very silly take on relationships will resonate with readers on both sides of the divide. (Picture book. 3-6)