16 March 2012 OH NO, GEORGE! by Chris Haughton, Candlewick, March 2012, 32p., ISBN: 978-0-7636-5546-4

“’You know, Toad,’ said Frog, with his mouth full, ‘I think we should stop eating.  We will soon be sick.’

“’You are right,’ said Toad.  ‘Let us eat one last cookie, and then we will stop.’

“Frog and Toad ate one last cookie.  There were many cookies left in the bowl.

“’Frog,’ said Toad, ‘let us eat one very last cookie, and then we will stop.’

“Frog and Toad ate one very last cookie.

“’We must stop eating!’ cried Toad as he ate another.

“’Yes,’ said Frog, reaching for a cookie, ‘we need will power.’”

--Arnold Lobel, from (the Newbery Honor book) FROG AND TOAD TOGETHER (1972)

“Freedom is secured not by the fulfilling of one’s desires but by the removal of desire…No man is free who is not master of himself.”

--Epictetus (the epigraph on the copyright page of OH NO, GEORGE!)

George is a lovable dog.  When his owner Harry goes out, he asks George to be good.  And that is George’s intention.

“I hope I’ll be good. George thinks.”

But then George gives in to his desires.  He eats the cake, “plays with” the cat, and digs in the flower pot.  (The two-page spread of George with his mouth open like some sort of gaping steam shovel, having just bitten off a third of the cake, is roll-on-the-floor hilarious.) 

When Harry returns home, he is justifiably dismayed by the manner in which George has trashed the house.  And George is contrite.  When they subsequently go out for a walk, George stops himself from chomping on the cake (that is part of someone’s picnic), stops himself from chasing a cat (who is surprised), and stops himself from digging.

But then he sees an overflowing garbage receptacle.  And George loves sorting through garbage.  What will he do?

We are left with a cliff-hanger.

I am utterly in love with the illustrations here.  George’s big, sweet eyes, long muzzle, and long ears are something else.

And, of course, this is a very funny book whose humor is based on the concept of self-regulation.  One of a child’s most important developmental tasks is moving from external regulation to self-regulation.  The degree to which a particular child succeeds in this transition correlates closely with this child’s readiness for the rule-following and socialization that are central to being a participant in school.   Its importance is why we encounter this topic time and again children’s literature.  (Think Joey Pigza.)

What will George do with the garbage?

I love this dog!

Richie Partington, MLIS
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