The Mess — Jennifer Wolfe

A unique and hilarious reusable sticker book.

Mom, Dad, Noah, and Emma live together with their dog, Dexter. Like a lot of busy households, their place has become unbearably messy. When Dad announces that everyone must do his or her bit to clean up, Noah and Emma groan with dismay. But clean up they must, so the work begins.

The story sounds unremarkable so far, but there are surprises in store. Each time the story is told, the reader is invited to change words and create a new version. By selecting from a list of words that appear on sticker pages at the back of the book, and placing them in the blank spaces provided in the text, kids will embark on an adventure in storytelling of their own making. The same characters are there throughout -- cleaning their rooms, scrubbing the house, or eating lunch -- but it's what they use to clean and to scrub the dirt away, what they find under their beds, or what they put in their sandwiches that brings such hilarity to the story.

Here is a sampling of the words offered: cake, tea bag, salamander, vampire, porcupine, warthog, pompom, scooter, tambourine, umbrella. Now, choose two words and place them in the blanks below. See if you can read the results of your creation without cracking a smile. Then substitute two other words and read the sentences again.

"Mom swept the kitchen, but to her surprise a ****** ended up in the dustpan. When she opened the closet door, a ****** fell on her head, but it didn't hurt too much."

Kids will love the opportunity to create their own version and read it aloud to family and friends. When the story is complete and the comical results have been fully enjoyed, the word stickers are simply returned to the sticker pages, to be used another time. There are also blank stickers so kids can make up their own words.

The story of the family in the messy house ends happily. When they complete their work, they are so satisfied with the result that they decide to throw a party for the neighborhood. A great time is had by all, but by the end the whole house is a mess again.

This is a book that will encourage kids to read over and over again. The bold, vibrant and wacky illustrations add to the fun.