Guess What? / Challenged

Plot Summary:

            Like several others discussed, this book does not follow a typical plot line. The text asks kids to guess things about “a crazy lady called Daisy O’Grady,” and then answers the question on the next page. For example the text asks if she has a broomstick. On the next page, we find out that “Yes!” she does have a broomstick. In the end we find out that she is a witch but she is a nice witch.

Personal Reaction:            

            This is the kind of story that would be great to read to an audience of children, I like it when they are asked to participate in the story, but guess what? It might scare the bejesus out of them! The scary part is not really the text, it is the creepy illustrations. Daisy O’Grady is grotesquely pictured taking baths beside dead animals, sleeping amongst spiders, and casting spells. The pictures are very well done actually; they are of extremely high quality with amazing attention paid to detail. They do not really add to comprehension due to the fact that the book only contains 124 words and there are many more objects in just a few of the illustrations.  I am not one for censoring at all, but I do have to say this particularly when it comes to young children: let’s not give them nightmares. I would be outraged if my little one (which I don’t have) came home from school with nightmares because of a book that was too scary. On the other hand, I do think this book was intended to be a read aloud and am not sure it holds up to being read silently.

Fox, M., & Goodman, V. (1990). Guess what?. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.