From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3-- In this traditional tale, adapted and retold in verse, a little old woman complains to a wise old man that, "My house is a squash and a squeeze," even though she is the sole resident. The thoughtful man tells her to take in, in turn, her hen, goat, pig, and finally her cow. Of course the house seems gigantic when the temporary boarders are put out. Clever caricatures of characters accentuate the humorous situation. Just a curl of a lip or the ideal placement of the dot in the white eyeball make them whimsical, pensive, dismayed, serene, or horrified. Pen-and-ink outlined with bright watercolor washes are set against a white background. It seems that light is shining through the pages. Best of all is the language; the refrain reverberates even after the story is over. Margot Zemach's It Could Always Be Worse (Farrar, 1990) and Eleanor Chroman's It Could Be Worse (Childrens, 1972; o.p.) are familiar versions of the story. Donaldson's has fewer details, but its rollicking verse makes it a charming story hour addition.
- Nancy Seiner, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Nancy Seiner, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Kirkus Reviews
You may not think you need yet another version of the tale about someone realizing that her house is actually big enough to accommodate a whole slew of animals, after crowding them in--one by one--on the advice of a wise man (he looks as much like a vicar as a rabbi here). But this variant has two things to recommend it: Donaldson's merrily lilting text (``The little old lady cried, `Stop, I implore!/It was cramp-y for three and it's teeny for four./Even the pig in the cupboard agrees/my house is a squash and a squeeze' ''); and Scheffler's vigorously limned cartoon-style illustrations, explicating and elaborating the ludicrous events line by line. Where funds permit, a worthy addition. (Picture book. 3-8) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
