WHAT’S WITH THIS ROOM?

Lots of kids have messy bedrooms, but the little boy in this rhyming story has such a pigpen of a room that “you’d have to clean up just to call it a mess.” In the introductory pages, the boy’s parents point out all the problems in the room, from leftover lunch in the corner to strange creatures living in the closet. The boy then explains that all the various messes are really related to his school projects in art, archaeology and several areas in science, concluding with a volcano experiment that blasts the whole family out of the house, into a tree. The rhyming text is full of humor that will appeal to kids (dead bugs under the bed, underwear on the ceiling fan), although some of the experiment fields and scientific terms will require explanation for younger children. Bright and busy illustrations bring the amazingly messy room to life with a wide variety of perspectives, and the endpapers include funny room-cleaning tips. (Picture book. 4-8)