Marge in Charge

Jemima Button is seven and her brother Jake is four. Their parents, when they go out, leave them with a babysitter. So far, so normal. The new babysitter, however, is far from normal, though the children's parents never find out just how far from normal Marge really is. She arrives, short, serious and wearing sensible clothing and a hat, to be given a set of instructions by Mrs Button, including Jake eating his broccoli and washing his hair, both things that he absolutely hates doing. It is only when their parents leave that things get interesting. Marge takes off her hat to reveal a mane of rainbow coloured hair and tells the children unlikely stories of her past life in the palace where she is really a duchess. She invents new rules about dinner and bath time which result in complete chaos but, somehow, by the time Mr and Mrs Button return, all is calm and every one of Mrs Buttons' instructions has been achieved. This book consists of three short stories where Marge is left in charge of Jemima and Jake; once at home, once taking them to a birthday party and on one occasion accompanying them to school. All three occasions result in Marge revealing the strangest of talents and still managing to save the day, even if she does end up in the school fountain. The stories are told from the point of view of seven year old Jemima so the sentences are short and the vocabulary straightforward. The plentiful illustrations and the length of the stories (individually about fifty pages each) will appeal to competent readers ready to embark on solo reading and Marge's crazy tales of pink flamingos and being sawn in half will entertain anyone who enjoys a giggle.

Suggested Reading Age 7+