Jenny Learns a Lesson

by Gyo Fujikawa

Jenny learns how to play with her friends without being too bossy.

Hardcover

Published January 1, 1985

About the author

Gyo Fujikawa was an American illustrator and children's book author. A prolific creator of more than 50 books for children, her work is regularly in reprint and has been translated into 17 languages and published in 22 countries. Her most popular books, Babies and Baby Animals, have sold over 1.7 million copies in the U.S. Fujikawa is recognized for being the earliest mainstream illustrator of picture books to include children of many races in her work, before it was politically correct to do so.

-Wikipedia

Reviews

[La Coccinelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very cute! The title might not be subtle (it's a sweet little story with a moral), but it's written well and illustrated beautifully in Gyo Fujikawa's signature style.

Jenny is a bossy little girl! No matter what game they're playing, she always tries to make it so that she's in charge so she can tell the others--a diverse group of three children and one dog--exactly what to do and how to do it. Whether she's the queen, the dancing instructor, or the pirate captain, she expects everybody to do as she says. Eventually, though, her friends have enough of that, and Jenny is left to ponder why her friends suddenly don't want to play with her.

Sam, Nicholas, and Mei Su are almost unrealistic in how long they put up with Jenny's bossiness. But I like that they eventually draw a line and walk away when the bossiness gets out of control. Jenny's obviously the leader of the group, and while there's nothing inherently wrong with that, she does take it too far. I like how her turnaround is shown. It's not instant, and she has to think about it a little. Eventually, she seems to realize that giving up some control might be worth it if it means her friends actually want to play with her!

The book is illustrated with alternating spreads of black-and-white and colour pictures. I seem to remember that format from some of the Fujikawa books I had as a kid. The illustrations are all really cute, though, and capture the emotions of the story well.

I don't know why a book like this should be out of print. Maybe people are put off by the overly obvious title, but they shouldn't be. Jenny Learns a Lesson has an important message to share... and plenty of adorable illustrations for readers to enjoy along the way!

Quotable moment:

Sam and Nicholas and Mei Su and Shags were tired of being told what to do.

So they left the grand duchess to have tea all by herself.

[Jenny.p · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book quite literally changed my life at the impressionable age of five. It seems that I was developing a vicious tendency to be bossy with my friends, little brother, dolls and the springer spaniel. Mom noticed. Mom took action in the form of Jenny Learns a Lesson. I highly recommend this book. Sometimes all we need is a healthy slice of humble pie...