Maggie McGillicuddy's Eye for Trouble

by Susan Hughes, Brooke Kerrigan

Overview

Unlike her neighbors, Maggie McGillicuddy has an eye for trouble. And she spots it — everywhere! Look, over there, a tiger lurking! And there, a snake slithering! (You don’t see them? Well, no imagination, I guess.) And it’s all good fun until her young neighbor Charlie comes face to face with some very real trouble, and Maggie must jump into action! Readers will have no trouble spotting the clever make-believe in this charmingly illustrated story about an unlikely friendship rooted in playful imagination.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781771387484
Publisher:	Kids Can Press
Publication date:	10/04/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	37 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Susan Hughes an award-winning author, whose books for children include Case Closed?, No Girls Allowed, Earth to Audrey and Virginia. She has loved horses since she was a child and has long dreamed of setting a story on Sable Island. Susan lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Up-and-coming illustrator Brooke Kerrigan is a graduate of the Sheridan College's Interpretive Illustration program. She is the illustrator of a nonfiction series published by Lorimer, as well as Eat It Up! (2009), a cookbook published by Owlkids. Her picture books include the award-winning Kiss Me (I'm a Prince) by Heather McLeod (2012 Blue Spruce Award Honour Book and shortlisted for the 2012 Amelia Bloomer project) and two books by Carolyn Beck: Dog Breath (2011) and Wellington's Rainy Day (2011 - an OLA Best Bet). She divides her time between Chamonix, France, and Toronto, Ontario.

Editorial Reviews

2016-06-28
A neighborhood busybody “keeps an eye out for trouble.”Maggie McGillicuddy, an old white lady, sits on her porch knitting when a black family moves next door with their young son, Charlie. As he runs out the front door, his mother warns him to be careful. The boy quickly finds trouble in the form of a tiger stalking across the lawn. It is, of course, a cat, and Maggie and her knitting needles take care of the threat. The next day a tree root morphs into a snake, menacing the pizza-delivery woman, but Maggie again dispatches it. An imaginary eagle with outstretched talons is no match for Maggie either. Then, the next day, real trouble comes as Charlie chases his ball almost into the street but is saved when Maggie yells a warning. After that, Charlie sees a herd of elephants and a big-jawed crocodile but bravely faces them. Hughes addresses readers on more than one occasion, making sure that the threat is seen. “(You see it there, don’t you? Charlie did, too.)” Exactly what readers are supposed to understand is unclear. Not to fear imaginary threats? To embrace paranoia? That Maggie and Charlie are sharing hallucinations? Kerrigan’s bland, washed-out illustrations offer little clarity. Friendship between a little boy and an old lady is a lovely thing, but the story lacks cohesion and purpose. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews