"I Can't Said the Ant" by Polly Cameron (book review)

"I Can't," Said the Ant by Polly Cameron
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is one of those books that, when your child shouts, "read it again" you won't want to gouge out your eyes. This was my favorite book when I was a kiddo growing up in the 1970s. We checked it out from the library over and over until finally, when I was pregnant with my own daughter in 2006, Mom found an old copy on ebay and gave it to me at my baby shower. Now my daughter and I love to read it over and over again.

This is a cozy, quaint story of an ant underdog who thinks it can't lift the teapot that's lying on the kitchen floor back up to the sink all by itself. But with the help of cheerleading, culinary friends--from a scallion who wants to form a battalion to an anxious slab of beef who speaks for us all when it shouts "what a relief!"--and "an army of ants and a spider or two" the ant overcomes all odds to win the day. A "Little Engine That Could" tale, told in clever rhyme and set in an old-timey kitchen. The simple red and white illustrations might leave kids today wondering where all the color is, but hearing you read the story aloud will make up for the rather bland illustrations. On the other hand, this is a great lap book for young artists who like to geek out looking at other people's detailed drawings.

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