Oh No, Gotta Go #2 (review)
Buy Issue for $25 at JHUP- In Search of Mockingbird
The spunky little Latina who learned the limits of bladder control in Oh No, Gotta Go! (BCCB 7/03) isn't taking any chances on her current outing to the park for a picnic. Not only does she dutifully visit the baño before leaving home, she also makes a grand effort at dehydration: "I didn't drink jugo or pink limonada./ I didn't drink agua. I didn't drink nada!" But on her tricycle, blocks from home, she realizes that the spinach salad wants out—now—and her parents are again called upon to make a mad dash for the facilities before disaster strikes. Although this particular little gal's intestinal woes play out bilingually in English and Spanish (with glossary provided), there are no cultural borders to potty panic, and all listeners and their long-suffering parents will recognize the scenario. The frantic urgency is underscored by Avril's chalk pastels, which segue from cool greens and relatively static compositions of a leisurely trip to the park, to the fiery reds and oranges of the bolt for the bathroom. Will this cautionary tale convince little ones of the need for preemptive bathroom visits? Not likely. But perhaps they and their parents will face the next accident with better grace.
