Review - Is That You, Eleanor Sue?

Is That You, Eleanor Sue?
by Tricia Tusa
Date: 2018
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: library

Saturdays are dress-up days when Eleanor Sue

Climbs out the window . . .
Tiptoes over to the front door . . .
And rings the doorbell.

Ding dong.

When her mother answers, she doesn’t see Eleanor Sue. She sees

A cranky old neighbor.
Or a hungry witch.
Or a white-bearded wizard.

Eleanor Sue is a master of disguise, but when her mother gets in on the act, along with Grandma, anything can happen in this whimsical picture book by award-winning author/illustrator Tricia Tusa.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

The illustrations in this book are pretty cute, and I was enjoying myself up until almost the end... and then got bogged down by a couple of pages that left me rather confused.

Eleanor Sue likes to dress up. She takes on various personas, and then rings the doorbell and interacts a bit with her mother while still in character. That part of the book I really enjoyed. However, when it came time for "Grandma" to show up, I sort of feel like I missed something. Eleanor dresses up as Grandma... but then the doorbell rings. It's Eleanor Sue's mother, dressed up as Grandma. What follows is a confusing exchange. I'm not sure if Eleanor Sue doesn't want her mother to pretend to be Grandma; she tells her mother that she's Momma. Okay... but then when Momma calls Eleanor Sue "Grandma" (keep in mind that the kid is still dressed up as Grandma at this point), Eleanor Sue says only, "No, Momma." Has the game stopped? I'm not sure. I've read the pages in question a number of times, and I'm still not sure who's supposed to be whom and what everyone should be called and if the dress-up game is still going. (This isn't really a big deal... except for the fact that it yanked me right out of the flow of the story because I couldn't figure out the significance of calling--or not calling--someone "Grandma".)

The pictures are whimsical and pretty fun. Seeing Eleanor Sue dressed up as the various characters is entertaining.

This book is obviously a celebration of imagination. There's not a lot of story (other than the kid dressing up), and what little there is confused me a bit. I'd recommend adults read this one on their own first, and only share it with their kids if they understand the whole Grandma/Momma deal at the end.

Premise: 3/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 4/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall: 3.33 out of 5