Pookins Gets Her Way

Reviewed by: Michelle Brenner - Casco Public Library, Casco, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: March 14, 2016

Review

Pookins Gets Her Way tells the story of Pookins who uses bad behavior like yelling and throwing apples to get everything she wants. Adults are noticeably absent from the story but obviously ignore her behavior and meet her demands. The illustrations nicely portray the impudence of the urchin and even her boredom in her messy room filled with toys. Pookins meets a magic gnome who grants the wishes she demands including becoming the prettiest flower in the world. She discovers it isn't fun being potted as a flower and because she shelters the gnome with her petals, he turns her back into a girl again as long as she puts her bad behavior and apples into his "magic hat forever". She keeps one apple, "just in case". This is billed as a "story about being considerate" but that is a stretch as Pookins' change of heart is minimal, considering the amount of bad behavior on her part and the fact that she actually gets what she wants in the end.

Overall Book Score: good