Henrietta: There's no one better

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 26 JUNE 2006

Henrietta P. Hoppenbeek provides the delightfully careening narrative in Murray's (The Slightly True Story of Cedar B. Hartley) quirky tale. After the garrulous heroine describes herself ("I'm a good wiggler, and sometimes I'm exhillperating and sometimes I'm exasperating"), she introduces her pet mice, dog, best friend and baby brother Albert, who is "only the size of a sock. Not really. He's probably about the same size as a sewing machine, only he can't sew." Sepia- and rose-toned spot illustrations in a childlike free-hand style demonstrate Henrietta's points (e.g., baby Albert within the outline of a sewing machine). She blithely announces that her role at home is to "make sure things keep happening." It is a job at which she excels. Trotting out her comically overactive imagination, the lass lists the things she can do: "I can become a dueling rhinoceros, a surf champion,... or a high-and-mighty lady singing hallelujah, praise the land of agreeable chairs" (a series of scenes depict a chair as her chief prop in each scenario) and confides that "what she really want to be is an explorer" (e.g., sailing in the bathtub with her brother to the Land of One Thousand Alberts, where she drops him off "for a long holiday"). Handlettered type that swirls across the page, along with the energetic, spontaneous-looking drawings add to the whimsy of the book. Feisty, inventive Henrietta is sure to attract many fans. Ages 7-10.