Meltdown!

by Jill Murphy, Jill Murphy (Illustrator)

Overview

From the creator of the beloved Large family comes a sympathetic—and simply hilarious—look at a toddler’s grocery-store tantrum.

One morning, Mom decides to take Roxy grocery shopping. “Roxy can help Mommy," she says cheerfully. Roxy makes a promising start, but when she squeezes the potato chip bag and rolls a can of beans across the floor, Mom is not pleased. “You’re not being very helpful, Roxy," she says, plunking the child back in the grocery cart. “Not very helpful," Roxy agrees. But being agreeable lasts only as far as the bakery aisle, where the need for a certain piggy-face cake spurs a level of high-decibel determination—and a display of headfirst acrobatics—that has onlookers staring in awe. With the signature humor that made Five Minutes’ Peace a classic, Jill Murphy escalates a toddler meltdown to its comical breaking point, leaving readers laughing and heaving a sigh of relief not to be driving (or riding in) that grocery cart.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763689261
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	09/13/2016
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 10.90(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Jill Murphy (1949-2021) began drawing and writing stories at a very early age and was already putting books together (albeit with a stapler) by the time she was six. She was only eighteen when she wrote The Worst Witch. Her books about the lovable but disaster-prone Mildred Hubble sold more than five million copies worldwide and became much-loved classics. Jill Murphy also wrote and illustrated several award-winning picture books for younger children.

Editorial Reviews

08/22/2016
Murphy's books have often comically explored the relationships between headstrong children and frazzled parents, and this story is no exception. Roxy, a rambunctious bunny toddler, is ready to help her mother shop for groceries, but she soon starts rolling cans down the aisle and throwing loaves of bread in the air instead of placing them in the cart. After Roxy gets her hands on a "piggy cake" that she's eager to eat, the messy result involves lots of wailing on Roxy's part and just as many apologies from her mother: "Everyone was looking." Carefully inked illustrations telegraph the emotions of all of Murphy's characters, including Roxy's eagerness and rage, her mother's embarrassment and anger, and the irritation of their fellow shoppers. Murphy's use of repetition (Roxy often echoes her mother's comments) and a mischievous ending—suffice it to say, the words "I'm sorry" never escape Roxy's lips—are just a few of the ways Murphy keeps her story true to life, as she suggests that sometimes the only way to beat a tantrum, as far as parents are concerned, is to suffer through it. Ages 3–7. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Murphy's colored-pencil-and-pen illustrations augment the humor of her text, which hinges on the dialogue between Mom and Roxy. A slice-of-life toddler story that squarely maintains focus on the toddler.
—Kirkus Reviews

Murphy's use of repetition (Roxy often echoes her mother's comments) and a mischievous ending—suffice it to say, the words "I'm sorry" never escape Roxy's lips—are just a few of the ways Murphy keeps her story true to life, as she suggests that sometimes the only way to beat a tantrum, as far as parents are concerned, is to suffer through it.
—Publishers Weekly Online

Seeing Roxy plunge headfirst into the shopping cart while screaming, “GIVE ME THE PIGGY CAKE NOW!” will guarantee laughter from any group of parents and children. Murphy doesn’t forget to include the embarrassment on Roxy’s mom’s face and the horrified looks from onlookers, either. Tantrums happen, but somehow they are easier to deal with and better to laugh about and talk about in a book.
—School Library Journal

Murphy’s illustrations, done in colored pencils and pens, are adept at showing ordinary scenes and frosting-covered chaos. The funny ending and over-the-top drama will sit just right with young readers.
—Booklist Online

From the Publisher

10/01/2016
PreS-K—Roxy the rabbit has loads of energy. She bounces up and down when getting dressed, and she can barely sit still in her stroller. "WHEEEEEE!" she says as she and her mother enter the grocery store. Her mother is patient when Roxy tries to "help," but you can almost hear her mother's voice get louder as she reminds Roxy not to squeeze the bags, throw the bread, or roll the cans. These are funny moments but nothing compared to the hilarity in the dialogue and colored pencil and pen illustrations when the pig cake goes into the cart. Seeing Roxy plunge headfirst into the shopping cart while screaming, "GIVE ME THE PIGGY CAKE NOW!" will guarantee laughter from any group of parents and children. Murphy doesn't forget to include the embarrassment on Roxy's mom's face and the horrified looks from onlookers, either. Tantrums happen, but somehow they are easier to deal with and better to laugh about and talk about in a book. VERDICT A useful addition to most collections.—Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake Public Library, Alta., Canada

School Library Journal

2016-08-02
A parent-child power struggle at the grocery story provokes the titular meltdown.When Mom decides to bring her little daughter, Roxy (both anthropomorphic white rabbits), to the grocery story, she says “Roxy can help” her. Exuberant Roxy is excited about this prospect, but her antics suggest that her help will be…less than helpful. Sure enough, Roxy is a bit rough with the groceries, and after she goes running off with the cart, Mom straps her into the seat. But this doesn’t contain the mischief when, against her better instincts, Mom lets Roxy hold a boxed cake, and Roxy, with “a very determined smile,” demands to eat it then and there. The eponymous meltdown ensues! Mom is embarrassed, frustrated, and eager to get home as Roxy pitches a fit down the aisle, at the checkout, and during the walk home in her stroller. When an exasperated Mom asks “What do you say to Mommy?” at book’s end, the closing image shows Roxy offering, not an apology, but a prettied-up request for the contended cake: “…please?” Murphy’s colored-pencil–and-pen illustrations augment the humor of her text, which hinges on the dialogue between Mom and Roxy. A slice-of-life toddler story that squarely maintains focus on the toddler. (Picture book. 2-6)

Kirkus Review