Alone!

PreS-Gr 1–Reminiscent of Ann McGovern’s Too Much Noise, this rhyme is about redheaded, white, antisocial Billy McGill who enjoys living alone. The boy’s house is on top of a hill where he lives peacefully until the day he hears a mouse. In order to rid his quiet home of the pest, Billy goes into town and brings back a cat. But, since the cat likes to play chase with the mouse, Billy decides a dog is needed. Perfectly scanning rhymes tell of assault after assault on Billy’s peace: a Black veterinarian, planning to cure a tiger’s cold by knitting him a sweater, a brown-skinned hairdresser who’s there to shear the sheep, and a winsome brown baby who will not stop crying. Billy finds even more solitude in a spot where it’s all a bit too silent. Humorous brightly hued illustrations fill the pages with color and movement while the text changes in size and shape adding to the engaging tale.