Help, I Don't Want a Babysitter!

by Anke Wagner, Anne-Kathrin Behl (Illustrator)

Overview

A reassuring and hilarious look at a child’s trepidation about meeting his first babysitter then realizing he adores her! When Ollie’s parents hire a babysitter, Ollie’s cuddle buddy Stubbs imagines the worst: what if the babysitter sprays them with stinky perfume . . . what if the babysitter only cooks yucky green vegetables? But when Ollie and Stubbs meet Ella . . . what happens next just might surprise you! Anke Wagner’s pitch-perfect story and Anne-Kathrin Behl’s humorous illustrations will comfort and entertain!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780735842144
Publisher:	NorthSouth Books
Publication date:	04/01/2015
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 11.10(h) x 1.30(d)
Lexile:	AD510L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Anke Wagner was born in Mülheim, Germany. She finds joy in writing children’s books. She gets her ideas while working in the garden. Her most important critics are her two grown-up daughters. Anne-Kathrin Behl grew up in Greifswald, Germany. She studi

Editorial Reviews

02/23/2015
The prospect of having a babysitter for the first time sparks a vivid bit of fantasizing in this reassuring tale. When Ollie’s parents announce that they are taking an evening out, Ollie seems fine with it, but his favorite blue “cuddle buddy” (and emotional proxy), Stubbs, is a bundle of worry, imagining a series of worst-case scenarios as the boy sleeps: “What if the babysitter is a strict old aunt who only cooks yucky green vegetables? What if she makes Ollie and Stubbs eat it all up?” Any fears are put to rest when the real babysitter, “a smiley girl named Ella,” shows up, armed with a love of games, a recipe for “Swashbucklers’ spaghetti with bloodred tomato sauce,” and a story “that can only be read in a fort.” Wagner and Behl use humorous detail to depict all manner of imaginary babysitting horrors—from a roughhousing muscle man to a “wicked witch with an evil cackle.” Pencil-like shading brings depth to Bell’s digital images, which feature a spry sense of movement and a bold palette. Ages 4–8. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"Wagner and Behl use humorous detail to depict all manner of imaginary babysitting horrors—from a roughhousing muscle man to a “wicked witch with an evil cackle.” Pencil-like shading brings depth to Bell’s digital images, which feature a spry sense of movement and a bold palette."- Publishers Weekly

"Parents of anxious children everywhere will rejoice in this funny tale...Meeting new babysitters can be scary, but this book will help soothe children’s worries."- Brooke Newberry, School Library Journal

From the Publisher

04/01/2015
K-Gr 2—Parents of anxious children everywhere will rejoice in this funny tale. Mommy and Daddy are going to the movies, so Ollie and his best stuffed cuddle buddy, Stubbs, are getting their very first babysitter. While Ollie sleeps with ease, Stubbs tosses and turns all night wondering about the new caretaker. Anything is possible, from a girly, perfume-spraying girl to a muscular weight-lifting man. Sensitive children might be terrified of the "wicked witch with an evil cackle" scenario, but they'll soon be reassured when they meet the real babysitter, who appears on the next page, is actually quite fun. The pencil drawing illustrations present each new prospect with hilarious results and complement the text perfectly. While the story is perhaps too long for a read-aloud, it is idealfor one-on-one reading. Meeting new babysitters can be scary, but this book will help soothe children's worries. VERDICT A solid addition for most collections.—Brooke Newberry, La Crosse Public Library, WI

School Library Journal

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