ROSIE GETS READY

The tale of a pristine little pig.

On page after page, Ruzzier details Rosie’s precise morning routine. She awakens “in her neat little room” before using the toilet, washing up, taking a bubble bath, cleaning the bathroom, moisturizing her skin, brushing her hair, dressing, eating breakfast, carefully clearing up, and, at last, brushing her teeth and gargling. “And now, Rosie is finally ready,” reads a page showing the precious piglet in her pink rosette-covered dress and matching shoes. But what exactly is Rosie ready for? Despite her exhaustively detailed preparations, punctuated by speech ballons with endearing asides from Rosie herself, nowhere on the preceding pages do we learn of her plans. This reticence sets up a deliciously subtle moment of suspense when Rosie calls out, “See you later, Mom” and heads for the front door. On the facing page, Rosie is centered in a circular portrait, breaking the fourth wall and offering an impish grin. A page turn delivers a pleasing punchline with aplomb: “PLOP!” reads display type in thick, rounded letters as Rosie delightedly jumps into a mud puddle right outside her front door. Relying on his signature pen, ink, and watercolor illustrations, Ruzzier establishes a tone of domestic tranquility before upending it in one spectacularly joyous moment; this is an author who wholly understands both children’s love of structure and their craving for pure chaos.

Get ready—young readers will be clamoring for this book. Storytime perfection.