I absolutely adore Norton Juster's The Phantom Tollbooth, so I really, really, really wanted to like this book. I didn't, and, more importantly, my six-year-old son didn't. The writing felt as changeable as Sourpuss/Sweetie Pie's mood. Maybe that was deliberate, but it made it difficult for a child to follow. I usually admire the energy in Raschka's illustrations, but even they felt way to frenetic and bordering on schizo. We all enjoyed the illustrations of Chris Raschka... but I didn't love the execution of Juster's story. I was eager to read this because we all loved "The Hello, Goodbye Window" and also because a story with this message *could* have been well-received in our home since my two little ones can be sourpusses and sweetie pies all within the span of five minutes and I was hoping this would provide us a with a loving and humorous look at normal early childhood occurrence but this one didn't match my expectations.
What do You think about Sourpuss And Sweetie Pie (2008)?
Read this with the kids. I didn't much enjoy it, but the young kids seemed to like it.
—nina