I Always, ALWAYS Get My Way

by David Parkins (Illustrator)

Overview

From carefully aimed pouts and shifting blame to the threat of an all-out tantrum, this laugh-out-loud story for kids and adults focuses on the clever antics, advantage-taking, limit-testing, and childhood shenanigans of three-year-old Emmy. When Emmy spills juice and her dad’s pants get “orange-hosed,” she takes refuge behind Mom’s knee. Expecting a reprimand, Emmy is surprised when Mom tells Dad, “Now, sweetheart, you should let it be. After all . . . she’s only three.” Once Emmy discovers that she’s too young to be punished, she constantly wrangles her way out of trouble by proclaiming, “I’m only three!” and pulls a handy weapon from her arsenal of manipulative maneuvers. With hilarious, rhyming text and energetic ink and watercolor illustrations that capture Emmy’s expressions, from angelic to livid, readers discover that Emmy can’t get away with her outrageous behavior forever and that her actions do eventually have consequences.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780979974649
Publisher:	Flashlight Press
Publication date:	09/01/2009
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.80(w) x 9.80(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	5 - 7 Years

About the Author

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What People are Saying About This

Barbara Gruener

This whimsical tale is sure to entertain...anyone who's ever had a sneaky sibling. Once the laughter has subsided, it might also spark an interesting discussion about choices and consequences. (Barbara Gruener, School Counselor, Friendswood, TX)

Editorial Reviews

Bouncy rhymed text and humorous pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations follow little Emmy's path of destruction... .older siblings will be satisfied by the tale's ending.

Horn Book 2010

While making readers and listeners laugh, Emmy will remind many of their exasperating younger siblings.

Children's Literature

"Parkins'. . . cartoon-style ink and wash vignettes . . . focus on Emmy's yowls of indignation and insouciant smiles. . . . Newcomer Krasnesky writes tightly disciplined verse that never flags. . . . This is a fast-moving crowd-pleaser made for reading aloud." —Publishers Weekly



"Krasnesky tells the story with flowing rhyme that accommodates the humor of the plot and heightens Parkins's comical cartoon illustrations." —School Library Journal



"Emmy masterminds a (practically) foolproof plan to avoid trouble . . . Her animated expressions perfectly capture her scheming antics . . . She pouts her way into her family's hearts . . . The verse . . . does . . . partake of Silverstein['s] subversiveness." —Kirkus Reviews

"Emmy gets away with everything—she's only 3, after all—until her parents reach the limit of their patience, and Emmy must face a new concept: consequence." —Parent & Child Magazine

"Clever rhymed couplets . . . comic opera . . . lively vignettes . . . You do not have to love cats to enjoy this romp." —Children's Literature

"Bouncy rhymed text and humorous . . . illustrations follow little Emmy's path of destruction. Mom comes to her rescue, but the mishaps pile up . . . older siblings will be satisfied by the tale's ending." —Horn Book 2010



"Will resonate with parents everywhere . . . fun to read and fun to listen to . . . a perfect bedtime story . . . capturing the essence of a mischievous three-year-old." —The Sacramento Book Review


"A playful, expressive, dramatic, and very loveable protagonist. [This book] will undoubtedly leave many readers looking forward to Emmy's future adventures." —Florida Reading Journal (January 2012)

From the Publisher

At first, three-year-old Emmy gets away with peccadilloes like spilling orange juice on her dad’s trousers and using her older sister’s art materials (“Mom told her she should share with me./ After all... I’m only three”), pinning the blame on her siblings. But when her shenanigans spiral out of control (an early morning ice cream feast, setting loose her brother’s pet lizard, causing the bathtub to overflow), her family wises up. “Mom pointed to the stairs and said,/ 'That’s it, young lady!/ GO TO BED!’ ” British illustrator Parkins (Dick King-Smith’s Sophie books) works in cartoon-style ink and wash, using vignettes to focus on Emmy’s yowls of indignation and insouciant smiles and having fun with Emmy’s more elaborate misdeeds. Newcomer Krasnesky writes tightly disciplined verse that never flags, sprinkled with parenthetical asides and modern phrases (“ 'That’s SO not true, Mom,’ Suzie said”). Mischievous Emmy is a little too manipulative and self-serving to sympathize with completely—but that doesn’t make her any less authentic a character. This is a fast-moving crowd-pleaser made for reading aloud. Ages 4–8. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Dimplematic Immunity: Cute only gets you so far in the real world. Capturing the glee of victory and the sting of defeat, this hilariously illustrated rhyming book lets us laugh at our own (and our little sibling's) attempts to prove otherwise.

Just One More Book.com

Will resonate with parents everywhere . . . fun to read and fun to listen to . . . a perfect bedtime story . . . capturing the essence of a mischievous three-year-old.

The Sacramento Book Review

Emmy gets away with everything—she's only 3, after all—until her parents reach the limit of their patience, and Emmy must face a new concept: consequences.

Parent & Child Magazine

PreS—Three-year-old Emmy wreaks havoc on her entire household. From spilling orange juice on Daddy at breakfast, to adorning her brother's pet iguana in a bathing suit and letting the bathtub overflow, she's got curiosity and mayhem covered. Krasnesky tells the story with flowing rhyme that accommodates the humor of the plot and heightens Parkins's comical cartoon illustrations. "I tiptoed into Tommy's room/and found a way to use the broom/to get the lizard off the shelf,/entirely all by myself." As the star of this story gets into different sticky situations, she continually responds with the adage that "I'm only three," so not much should be expected of her. While her mother seems to respond to the little devil's helpless plea, it isn't long before things snowball and Emmy finds herself in a serious time-out.—Adrienne Wilson, Edith Wheeler Memorial Library, Monroe, CT

School Library Journal

While little Emmy appears sweet, her looks are deceiving. She superglues her sister's skateboard to her dollhouse, claims her family's possessions as pirate loot and steals her brother's lizard for a bikini-clad bath-time swim. Emmy masterminds a (practically) foolproof plan to avoid trouble through tantrums and sulking. Her mother initially dismisses her poor choices-"after all . . . She's only three"-though Emmy's manipulation eventually runs its course. "I sadly closed my bedroom door. / I may be here until I'm four." Parkins's pen-and-ink cartoons utilize disproportionate facial features for comical effect. Watercolors provide dashes of varied colors against bright white backgrounds. Emmy is physically charming: Her rosy cheeks, disheveled hair and bare feet convey a youthful exuberance. Her animated expressions perfectly capture her scheming antics. Wearing solid oversized shirts, striped leggings and matching ribbons, she pouts her way into her family's hearts. Although the verse doesn't have the suppleness of Silverstein, it does partake of his subversiveness. Overall, the result is a youngster more exasperating than endearing, one that many an older sibling will recognize with grim delight. (Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews

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