The Unruly Queen

Pre S-Gr 2—Redmond follows in the delightfully subversive footsteps of Shel Silverstein in this tale of Minerva von Vyle, a child so rude and spoiled that she has been through 52 nannies in as many weeks. Nanny number 53 arrives bearing the news that the Order of Nannies has crowned Minerva "The Unruly Queen," the child most difficult to control, and that she will now rule from Petulant Peak, a place full of beasts and caves, where no one behaves. Through a mix of supreme confidence and canny reverse psychology, Nanny finally tames the wild child. (Minerva: "I am going to go and get ready for bed!" Nanny: "Oh, I wouldn't…not if I were you. Just think of the damage behaving could do.") Redmond's clever rhyming verse trips off the tongue, and her scratchy, vintage-style illustrations bring to mind a slightly sunnier Edward Gorey.—Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, MD