I Need My Own Country!

by Rick Walton, Wes Hargis (Illustrator)

Overview

When in the course of childhood events, it becomes necessary for one (small) person to create a separate and equal hiding spot to which the laws of growing up entitle them, the truth will be self-evident: they should declare their very own country!

Full of tongue-in-cheek instructions-

Make your own flag.Your own currency.Your own laws.

-this picture book offers a hilarious lesson in junior civics that shows every budding future-president exactly how he or she can create a very special place all their own.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781599905594
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	10/16/2012
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	496,534
Product dimensions:	10.10(w) x 10.30(h) x 1.20(d)
Lexile:	AD510L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

RICK WALTON is the author of So Many Bunnies, One More Bunny and more than ninety other picture books both bunny-and non-bunny-related. He lives with his family in Utah. www.rickwalton.com

WES HARGIS is the illustrator of Jackson and Bud's Bumpy Ride and "Weird" Al Yankovic's When I Grow Up. He lives in southern Arizona with his wife and some really sweet kids. www.weshargis.com

Editorial Reviews

Childhood is full of injustices--why not start your own country, where you can make the rules? A young girl is fed up, especially with her troublesome little brother, and declares her independence. Spunky and full of pluck, she hereby lays claim to the country of "Myroomania." But what does a country need to get started? Citizens are important (stuffed animals and pets work well). And a national currency helps too (craft skills come in handy). But Walton delves a little deeper, also exploring civil unrest (the cat will not always like the dog) and preparing for the possibility of invasion. With sibling rivalry, whose house hasn't turned into a war zone at one point or another? Luckily, it doesn't end in tyranny. It is important to remember that all potential enemies might be carrying a peace offering--in the form of chocolate cake. Hargis' sprawling and energetic drawings follow each helpful instruction, packing in plenty of humorous details along the way. (The piggy bank is the obvious choice for Secretary of the Treasury, but the Secretary of the Navy? The goldfish has that covered.) Disgruntled and long-suffering children will cheer at this assertion of power. Especially those with political aspirations. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews

Civics need not be a snooze, as Walton (Baby’s First Year) and Hargis (When I Grow Up) prove. Their collaboration opens with a declaration of independence by a curly-haired narrator who’s consumed by revolutionary fervor thanks to her annoying younger brother: “There comes a time in all kids’ lives when they need to create their own country.” Thus the nation of “My Roomania” is founded, complete with a flag, laws, currency, national anthem (“My Roomania is the Best/ My Little Brother is a Pest!”) and cabinet (the cat is “Secretary of Mice”). But running a nation is no walk in the park, what with “civil unrest” (Citizen Dog and Citizen Cat just can’t get along) and the threat of invasion by her brother. Perhaps some realpolitik and compromise is in order. Hargis’s watercolor-and-ink cartoons are a smart match for Walton’s succinct, sly prose; the images have the ring of domestic authenticity and just a touch of the absurd, with expressive characters that never let a crisis go to waste—even the goldfish (Secretary of the Navy, naturally) looks ready for battle. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

K-Gr 2—After being sent to her room for playing ball in the house with the usual disastrous consequences, a girl decides that she needs her own private country, complete with its own name, rules, and anthem. This is one of those books in which the words tell one story while the pictures clearly tell another, similar to Mark Teague's "Larue" series (Scholastic). "You will need citizens"-kitty, doggie, goldfish, and assorted stuffed animals are pictured. "And there might be invasions"-little brother attempts to enter. While not as cerebral as Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are (Harper & Row, 1963), the classic story of how a child's fantasy life transforms his time-out, or as sophisticated as Paul Fleischman's Weslandia (Candlewick, 1999), this tale has substantial wit, humor, and charm. Hargis's watercolor illustrations are sunny and cheerful, filled with homey details that will invite children to pore over them time and again. A fun read that deserves a place in most collections.—Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ

School Library Journal