David Gets in Trouble

Starred review from June 24, 2002
That irrepressible fellow with the Charlie Brown head is back, trailing a whole new slew of disasters in his wake. In this follow-up to No, David!
and David Goes to School, Shannon finally lets David get a word in edgewise—as in "No! It's not my fault!" and "It was an accident!" In a series of hilarious snapshots of trouble-in-progress, David hurtles from one scrape to another. Anyone can sympathize with David's trials and tribulations, whether he is scowling at his breakfast ("Do I have to?"), pulling the cat's tail ("But she likes it!") or sitting sullenly on the bathroom floor, soap wedged firmly in mouth ("But Dad says it!"). The exuberant artwork crackles with energy and color (including backdrops in lime green and bittersweet orange), as Shannon carefully hews to a child's-eye view of the world (adults appear only as limbs and torsos). This memorable character is nothing short of a force of nature, from his scribbled eyes and hair to his shark-sharp teeth. In the end, it's a confession ("Yes! It was me!") that allows him a peaceful night's sleep, with a woman's tender hand and an "I love you, mom" hovering over his angelic (for now at least) round head. Readers will gladly call for "More, David!" Ages 3-up.

Starred review from September 1, 2002
PreS-Gr 2-David is back, and he is still causing a commotion. This time, he is sure that he is not to blame for every disaster that befalls him. The illustrations clearly show the dilemmas he has created, but his words in childlike print tell why he feels his mother should not be angry with him. "It was an accident" excuses his baseball crashing through a window. "I forgot" is his laughing rejoinder as he walks to school in his underwear. "But she likes it!" explains why he is pulling on the cat's tail. Talking with a bar of soap in his mouth, he complains, "But Dad says it!" When he stands guiltily next to a previously beautifully decorated cake with chocolate all over his face, he says, "No, it wasn't me!" However, the next spread shows him sitting up in bed, crying out, "Yes! It was me! I'm sorry," and he is patted by his mother as he tells her he loves her. The contemporary stylistic art is just right for depicting the boy's antics and his high-energy personality. David's comments in handwritten text sympathetically and humorously show his childlike reasoning and his eventual willingness to take responsibility for his actions. The front cover shows him sitting on a stool having a time out, and the back cover is filled with an array of timers, each one showing one minute passing. Children who enjoyed No, David (1998) and David Goes to School (1999, both Scholastic) will welcome this lighthearted sequel.-Adele Greenlee, Bethel College, St. Paul, MN

Copyright 2002 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 15, 2002
PreS-Gr. 1. David is back and in trouble--and full of excuses. In fact, the text is nothing but his excuses. When he breaks a window playing ball, "It was an accident." In school, "The dog ate my homework!" (Sure enough, his doggie is in the schoolhouse window with the half-eaten homework in his mouth.) And when David walks down the street sans his pants, it is, "I forgot!" The humor is always in the art--huge, full-color paintings with plenty of heft that fill up the page. Shannon's artwork is deceptively simple, always centered on the snaggletoothed David, who resembles Charlie Brown's evil twin. But the devil is in the details, mostly in the form of the scamp's ever-changing facial expressions, which range from innocent looks to a smirk; occasionally David even looks contrite. There are also funny asides--the wavy lines and the droopy flower as David yells, "Excuse me!" at the dinner table. Kids will certainly empathize with the troublemaker, but they will also sigh with relief when, in the last spread, Mom strokes David's head as snuggles in his bed. No more excuses: "I love you, Mom."(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2002, American Library Association.)