This is what I have to say about this book: you know all those picture books about the kid who Just Doesn't Fit In? The elephant ballerina, the sentimental monster, the penguin who can't swim? Those books are always about our differences make us stronger and/or we all find our place eventually. They try real hard, but most of them just don't make it all the way there.THIS book gets there. You've got your tidy, polite troll and your loud, messy little girl. The little girl drives her family nuts and the troll is a disappointment to the other trolls. So they trade places - now the girl gets to jump in mud and the troll gets to clean her room. Poor OCD troll. This is where a lot of picture books stop. Tabitha has found her true family - yay! But no, that's bullshit, that's a terrible long-term solution. Picture books that stop there make me CRAZY.So Leigh Hopkinson (author of the funny and stylish Goldilocks book that I loved so much last year) follows up Tabitha and Timothy's initial "ah it's so nice to fit in" period - during which, hilariously, Tabitha's parents totally overlook the fact that their daughter is now a hairy troll with protruding teeth - with a lapse into boredom for all concerned. Turns out Tabby's family kind of liked her loud ways, and the trolls at least had something to complain about when Timmy acted all fussy and prim.So they go back to their families and live happily ever after. The last page shows Timothy cutting loose with a loud burp and Tabitha sweeping up some dust, implying that they have each rubbed off on the other a little bit.And since if I am not overthinking a 32-page picture book I am not truly happy - let's overthink this a little. What if the troll is not real? What if it's all Tabitha? She knows that her parents despair of her filthy room and hygiene, and she metaphorically banishes those traits to go live with the trolls. She goes a week or two keeping her room clean and saying excuse me. Her parents appreciate the peace and quiet at first but before too long miss the vitality of Tabitha's chaotic ways. So does Tabitha, and so in the end they all excuse themselves to go do gymnastics on the couch. The last page, with Tabby using a broom, indicates that her "good" behavior interlude taught her that being tidy is not beyond her capabilities and that sometimes there's nothing wrong with a clean floor.This of course would be a MUCH more tedious book, and I'm so glad Leigh Hopkinson wrote it with the troll. It's fun, and it's warmhearted, and if it lets parents compartmentalize certain behaviors so that they can get less worked up about them, then GOOD. When the obviously misplaced at birth Timothy Limpet and Tabitha Lumpit decide to trade places, things go swimmingly at first. After all, with her messy ways and loudness, Tabitha is much more suited to a troll family, and Timothy is far too neat to belong to a troll family. But strangely enough, they and their families become bored because their behavior is too predictable. Not surprisingly, their original families want them back. This humorous picture book features attractive mixed media illustrations with fonts that fit the two main characters. While I liked this one with its positive message about acceptance, its transition from one character to the next seemed a little jarring.
What do You think about Troll Swap (2013)?
"What's the point if you can't be loopy and loud and have lot's of fun?"
—graciegirl13397
yet another utterly charming picture book from Leigh Hodgkinson.
—vick
