Review - Jenny Learns a Lesson

Jenny Learns a Lesson
by Gyo Fujikawa
Date: 1980
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: Open Library

Jenny learns how to play with her friends without being too bossy.

(synopsis from Amazon; see it on Goodreads)

This book is very cute! The title might not be subtle (it's a sweet little story with a moral), but it's written well and illustrated beautifully in Gyo Fujikawa's signature style.

Jenny is a bossy little girl! No matter what game they're playing, she always tries to make it so that she's in charge so she can tell the others--a diverse group of three children and one dog--exactly what to do and how to do it. Whether she's the queen, the dancing instructor, or the pirate captain, she expects everybody to do as she says. Eventually, though, her friends have enough of that, and Jenny is left to ponder why her friends suddenly don't want to play with her.

Sam, Nicholas, and Mei Su are almost unrealistic in how long they put up with Jenny's bossiness. But I like that they eventually draw a line and walk away when the bossiness gets out of control. Jenny's obviously the leader of the group, and while there's nothing inherently wrong with that, she does take it too far. I like how her turnaround is shown. It's not instant, and she has to think about it a little. Eventually, she seems to realize that giving up some control might be worth it if it means her friends actually want to play with her!

The book is illustrated with alternating spreads of black-and-white and colour pictures. I seem to remember that format from some of the Fujikawa books I had as a kid. The illustrations are all really cute, though, and capture the emotions of the story well.

I don't know why a book like this should be out of print. Maybe people are put off by the overly obvious title, but they shouldn't be. Jenny Learns a Lesson has an important message to share... and plenty of adorable illustrations for readers to enjoy along the way!

Quotable moment:

Sam and Nicholas and Mei Su and Shags were tired of being told what to do.

So they left the grand duchess to have tea all by herself.

Premise: 4/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 4/5
Illustrations: 4/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 5/5

Overall: 4.33 out of 5