George Shrinks

October 1, 1985
Illustrations in full, wild colors suit the frantic doings in Joyce's debut, a fast and funny tale. When George wakes up one morning, he realizes that his dream has come true. George has dwindled. He's smaller than his toy soldiers, half the size of his baby brother. But he's still the responsible boy his parents trust to obey orders they have left in a note beside his bed. And so a whirligig of merriment jets off with the minute lad minding the baby (George harnesses him to a wagon to haul out the garbage) and taking care of other chores. To feed the goldfish, George dons a diving helmet. To wash the dishes, he converts a sponge into "skis'' and hurtles down plates in the sink with spoons as poles. The strange day ends with a final surprise for the little big brother and his delighted readers.