School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 3-Another story about the zany grandmother who appeared in Cat up a Tree (Houghton, 1998). After Nana Quimby's family moves into a messy old home, a rodent runs across the kitchen floor, and the woman declares, "I cannot have a mouse in the house." She wakes up Father, who calls the pet shop and requests an owl to scare away the rodent. In rapid succession, each family member orders a new animal to get rid of the previous creature that has become problematic. Nana Quimby quickly finds out that a dog, an alligator, a tiger, and an elephant are not suitable pets. At last, she calls the pet store and orders a mouse to frighten the elephant, which runs away to a peanut farm. She gives the mouse some cheese for a job well done and then runs away to live with her cousin in Florida. Featuring characters with perfectly round heads and hair that sticks straight up, the lighthearted illustrations increase the silliness and enjoyment of the story. Packed with amusing details, they show the antics of each creature as well as Nana Quimby's humorous reactions. A fun choice for sharing aloud.-Linda Staskus, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Parma, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Shortly after the Quimby family moves into a cobwebby old house, Nana Quimby must leap onto her unsteady pink rocker to avoid a four-footed interloper. " `Eeek-a mouse!' cried Nana Quimby. `I cannot have a mouse in the house!' " To remedy the situation, Father Quimby buys an owl from the pet shop, and "the mouse ran away to a cheese factory. Father gave the owl a bowl of onions for a job well done." Unfortunately, Nana hates owls ("I cannot have an owl in the house!"), so Mother Quimby gets a dog to scare the owl into the woods, and rewards the dog with a jelly donut. Predictably, Nana dislikes the dog, and further disapproves of the series of animals-from an alligator to a tiger to an elephant-that follow. The tale comes full circle when the Quimbys use a certain rodent to get rid of the elephant, and a flustered Nana heads off to Florida, where she relaxes among hummingbirds in a sultry tropical garden. The Hassetts (Three Silly Girls Grubb) favor a folk-art style for their middle-distance paintings. Their cool colors include the lavender of Nana's polka-dot dress, the sage green of the kitchen table, the pale pink of a linoleum floor and the milky blue of the enameled refrigerator. While the palette may not be to every taste, the Hassetts nicely handle the escalating tension. They show the Quimbys rewarding each animal "for a job well done," then follow up with Nana's inevitable howls of protest. In this cyclical sequence, the Hassetts raise the stakes with every spread. Ages 4-8. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved