In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Reviewed by:
  • The Just-So Woman
  • Hope Morrison
Blackwood, Gary The Just-So Woman; illus. by Jane Manning. HarperCollins, 200648p (I Can Read Books) Library ed. ISBN 0-06-057728-2$16.89 Trade ed. ISBN 0-06-057727-4$15.99 R* Gr. 1-3

Set in a rural farming community of the past, this new entry in the I Can Read! series features a cast of two: the Just-So Woman, who insists that everything be done a certain way, and the Any-Way Man, who makes his plans on the fly. When the Just-So Woman sits down to breakfast on this particular day, she finds there is no butter for her bread. Thinking the matter is easily solved by getting some milk from her cow, she instead is faced with a series of other challenges, including a broken milking stool, a dull hatchet, an intrusive cat, a dirty milk spoon, some uninvited mice, and the need to borrow salt from the Any-Way Man. Unsurprisingly, lunchtime rolls around before the Just-So Woman has had breakfast, but, despite the Any-Way Man's offer, she insists "it would not do" to eat lunch before breakfast. In the end, the Just-So Woman's cat eats up the freshly made butter while she is out borrowing a butter mold. "'I guess he did not care whether it was molded or not,' says the Any-Way Man. 'I guess sometimes it is best just to take things as they are.'" The Just-So Woman agrees and, despite having missed breakfast and [End Page 244] lunch, invites the Any-Way Man to join her for a butterless dinner. This transitional chapter book is loaded with domestic charm: the Just-So Woman, whose lamentations are punctuated with a series of entertaining exclamations ("Oh, bother!" "Oh, fiddle!" "Oh, applesauce!"), is both likable and familiar, and young readers will be tickled by her overambitious efforts at doing things a particular way. Manning's folksy watercolor paintings feature rosy-cheeked and appealingly young characters dressed in period outfits. The pictures offer lots of clues for readers just beginning to take on chapter books independently, and the bright, light-filled compositions match the airy tone of the text. Share this entertaining life lesson with the just-sos and the any-ways in your early elementary set. An author's note describes some of the historical items noted in the text.

...

pdf

Share