EDIE IS EVER SO HELPFUL

How many ways can one child help?

Plucky heroine Edie is absolutely ready to help. What she doesn’t realize is that her version of helping is sometimes…different from everyone else’s. Stylized, matte illustrations recall the 1960s and vibrate with simplicity and charm as they show Edie in action. For instance, she helps wake her family by banging cymbals, dragging her brother from bed, and serenading her parents (with guitar) as loudly as possible. Her attempt at making breakfast is equally unconventional, and the way she lends a hand at shopping, organizing, and tidying up may be just a tiny bit…unhelpful. After making sure everyone has a good time at the park, Edie is ready for a nap, but she wakes ready to help again; first her brother needs help dressing up, and then Grandma needs some makeup and Grandpa, a new hairstyle (both delivered while they are asleep). “Sometime I have to remember NOT to be quite so helpful,” Edie says…but she also knows she is much appreciated and very much loved. The clear, straightforward text is full of warm and gentle humor and is aligned with the illustrations to allow young listeners the space to draw connections between the words and pictures. Edie and her family are uniformly pale-skinned, black-haired, and dot-eyed.

A charming, funny selection that’s sure to be embraced.