The Little Bookroom

house and home

Frank Endersby. Man's Work. Child's Play Press, 1986.

This little board book is a wordless journey through the house, as a little boy and his father do the cleaning. The cover shows us the father filling a bucket at the sink, the little boy holding the mop and smiling up at him. Together, they mop the kitchen, dust the dining table, clean the glass panels of the back door, dust the living room, vacuum, clean the bathroom, and fold the laundry. It's the kind of detailed examination that is fascinating for toddlers, as you discuss together the similarities and differences between the house in the story and your house. It's simple enough that there's still room to interject your own story, your own comments. And it communicates the deep pleasure we all take in working together. It's not always easy to find, but when you find it, bring it home to share

neat and clean!

Piggy Washes Up. By Carol Thompson. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 1989.

What a delightful book! The rosy pig narrator stands naked, in a heap of abandoned clothing, arms spread wide, to announce, “In my bathroom, I can find all kinds of things.” And sure enough, after surveying a few of the objects there, Piggy proceeds to use the toilet, to bathe and dry and powder, to brush teeth and comb hair, before using the scale and dressing for bed, utterly and completely “neat and clean!” The bathroom looks considerably worse for wear, of course, as it inevitably does when a toddler is done with it—and that is part of the pleasure. Children find this book absolutely fascinating, with its close careful examination of the still-mysterious processes of daily life. Piggy’s rubber duck proves a faithful companion, never more so than in the closing illustration in which the spotless pig sleeps, snout alone visible from under the covers, the robe draped over the blankets, the rubber duck sleeping with equal abandon in the robe pocket.