Review - Just Helping My Dad

Just Helping My Dad (Little Critter Readers)
by Mercer Mayer
Date: 2011
Publisher: HarperCollins
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: library

Join Mercer Mayer's classic and beloved character, Little Critter, as he spends the whole day with his dad in this My First I Can Read book!

From getting rid of a beehive to working in the yard and going to the store, Little Critter wants to be the world's best helper. Things might not always go as planned, but that doesn't stop Little Critter from trying his hardest!

Little Critter: Just Helping My Dad is a My First I Can Read book, which means it's perfect for shared reading with young children.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

Who is the audience for this book? I certainly wouldn't give it to a child. Little Critter spends all day modelling terrible behaviour, from spray-painting the house to trying to whack a beehive with a baseball bat, all under the guise of "helping". Oh, and who left the car windows open before Little Critter decided to wash the car? (Paying better attention could've saved Dad a lot of headaches.) Adults will probably find this book more amusing than kids. There aren't enough consequences shown to make this a decent book for kids; it's more of a nudge-nudge-wink-wink between parents about their rambunctious kids' antics. (Some of those antics are downright dangerous, though. Who lets a preschooler play with a lawnmower that can take off on its own? That's a recipe for severed toes right there.)

The pictures are fine, but I just don't like the story. Little Critter might mean well, but his parents should know him better and stay on top of things. He probably caused hundreds of dollars of damage, and it's played for laughs. I'm not impressed.

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

Enjoyment: 1/5

Overall: 2 out of 5