Mom and Dad Are Palindromes

Starred review from July 10, 2006
In this tale of compulsive wordplay, flame-haired Bob (aka Robert Trebor) discovers palindromes and becomes possessed by language. He notices mirror-image words and phrases everywhere, and begins listing "My kayak
. My race car
. Otto
, my pup
.... I needed to tell Mom and Dad and... O no
!" Realizing the literal truth of the book title, Bob rushes to inform his sister Anna: "You're all palindromes! Even Nan
!" Anna, snacking on Doofy Food, cautions, "Level, Bob, level
. You're being a kook
!" Bob's apprehension increases in a way that's both funny and infectious. "It will get better, won't it now
?" he reasons, unwittingly compounding the irony. Shulman (AA Is for Aardvark
) and McCauley (My Friend Chicken
) mimic the high anxiety of Scieszka and Smith's Math Curse
, down to the speckly illustration style and playful display type. They emphasize the palindromes with old-fashioned, circus-like capital letters that suit the hyper mood perfectly; street signs, book titles and incidental background details further reveal the palindrome epidemic. Fans of Jon Agee's palindrome titles will want to check out this volume, which slyly promotes a catchy spelling game. Ages 5-10.