I'm Not Millie!

September 1, 2019
Wild animals take the place of Millie during and after dinnertime, until her caregiver offers an incentive to become human again. A speech bubble coming from a character offstage says, "Millie, stop playing with your green beans." But on the table is a robin, with a worm in its mouth, who replies, "I'm not Millie." The back and forth continues, with various table and post-dinner directives on the verso matched by denials from a beaver, a hippo, an alligator, a cat, a kangaroo, and more (notably, never a monkey). The animal variations are cleverly matched with the child's naughty behavior: It's a tortoise when Millie's accused of "dawdling"; a koala climbing the lamp says, "Sounds like you're really frustrated with this Millie person." The back-and-forth text using both sides of the spread creates an enjoyable rhythm, with anticipation of the next scene building to a silly conclusion in which Millie eagerly reverts back to human form--a brown-skinned girl--in exchange for a treat that's just for her. The ink-and-watercolor illustrations make the animals seem quite at home inside while the oversized font for the adult's speech implies the frustration we don't need to see, keeping readers firmly on Millie's side. Bribery be darned, this irresistible book begs to be shared. (Picture book. 2-7)

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November 1, 2019

PreS-K-One frustrated parent and one super-imaginative child make for an entertaining and energetic tale. Beginning with dinner, a young girl takes on the behaviors of many animals while her off-stage parent attempts to teach her acceptable table manners. "Millie, stop playing with your green beans" is met with the oft-repeated retort "I'm not Millie" as the watercolor and India ink illustration shows a robin sitting atop the dining table with a juicy pink worm hanging out of its mouth. Millie becomes a beaver when eating corn on the cob, a cat when lapping up spilled milk, and a slow-moving turtle when bath time is announced. The child exhibits the habits of 12 animals during the evening while driving her parent to distraction. The story is conveyed using speech bubbles in a call-and-response format. When the adult wisely sends a message to Millie through her replacement, the small brown child with black hair arranged in beaded poofs becomes herself again and the remainder of the evening appears to be under control. VERDICT This fun and creative read-aloud puts a fresh spin on a family's evening routine.-Maryann H. Owen, Oak Creek Public Library WI

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