Don't Want to Go!

PreS-K—It's one of those days. Lily's mom is sick. Her dad has to work. "'Guess what!' says Dad. 'You're going to play at Melanie's house! Won't that be fun?'" Hughes's gouache illustrations, notable for their charming, colorful casualness, show Dad's forced cheerfulness and Lily's skepticism. "'Don't want to go,'" she protests. As Lily progresses from hiding under the table to participating in Melanie's household, young readers may well be thinking, that's not so bad, while adults wish that Melanie could be cloned and distributed worldwide. It's equally funny and predictable that when Dad comes to pick her up, Lily doesn't want to go. Hughes, one of the most beloved picture-book authors/illustrators in the world, is a master of understated, wry stories about the seemingly small incidents that loom large in a child's life. Her artwork looks unassuming and traditional but her brilliant layouts expertly mirror and emphasize every element in the text. While Don't Want to Go! contains a fair amount of text, it will capture the attention of preschoolers and kindergarteners when shared one-on-one and in small gatherings.—Susan Weitz, formerly at Spencer-Van Etten School District, Spencer, NY