Review - Just a Little Sick

Just a Little Sick (Little Critter Readers)
by Mercer Mayer
Date: 2009
Publisher: HarperCollins
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: library

Little Critter has a day off from school

When Little Critter feels just a little sick, Mom lets him stay home from school. Hooray! But between visiting the doctor and staying inside all day, missing school is not what Little Critter expected.

"Just a Little Sick" is a simple story--perfect for emergent readers who are eager to join Little Critter on his adventures.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

I know I read books about Little Critter when I was a kid, and I appreciate that he's a well-known and well-loved character. But the story in this book just didn't do it for me. It seems more like Mom is keeping him home to mess with him more than she's trying to protect him. He's "just a little sick", so his mother wants him to stay in bed. But he has a good appetite, he's well enough to want to play, and even when he starts to feel a little icky, he's refreshed by a nap. I don't know what ails this kid, but it certainly doesn't warrant his mother dragging him off to the germy doctor's office (where he could potentially catch something else) so the guy can sell them a big bottle of... something. Little Critter feels just fine, and when they get home, he wants to play with his friends. Mom says no. Now, I understand if she doesn't want him to spread whatever he's got, but that doesn't seem to be the issue. She's got a power trip going, and she doesn't want it to stop. She forces the kid back to bed, presumably so she can feed him more dry toast.

I get that the book is trying to show kids that being "just a little sick" might not be so fun after all... but the way the story goes about showing that is weak. It's not being sick that's the problem here. It's Mom's overbearing nursing of an illness so minor that the reader can't even tell what it is. Little Critter has a fever. That's all we know.

To me, it read more as Mom punishing Little Critter for being sick and having to stay home. But if she wants to listen to a kid whine from his bed all day because he's bored and hungry and cranky, that's her prerogative, I guess.

Premise: 2/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 2/5

Enjoyment: 1/5

Overall: 2 out of 5