Good-Bye, Kitchen.

by Mildred Kantrowitz, Mercer Mayer (Illustrator)

Book by Kantrowitz, Mildred.

40 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1972

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

4 stars for MM's illustrations, 2 stars for the very wordy text which is both boring and not convincing as a little girl's monologue. (Not that kids aren't often wordy and boring. Her speech patterns just didn't sound like a small child.)



I, like Rufie, would be trying repeatedly to slip away from this babbling baby-sitter.

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little girl's best friend and neighbor has just moved away, so she spends the afternoon with the little boy she is babysitting sitting across from her friend's old house and watching the movers take all the familiar items from the place. She's fairly sad until another moving company truck shows up and starts unloading the possessions of the new owners.

A pretty nothing story with a sort of annoying protagonist. Mercer Mayer's art is eye-catching though.

[Adele · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't care what anyone says, this is a masterpiece. A little wordy perhaps but the balance of words to the detailed illustrations is perfect. I want to linger over both. Every page evokes a time and a place and the people in it. There is always something new to find and appreciate. Little jokes in the pictures - "MacCarty's Moving Service Inc., Ltd., Co., Etc. & so forth" painted on the side of a truck. Every person is an individual with a personality displayed through dress, hairstyle, and behaviors. Mercer Mayer is a picture book god. I will admit that Kantrowitz is not in his league, but the text of this particular book really works for me, and it did when I was a very young child too. My husband may be right that this book is more for girls, sexist though that sounds. All I know is I could totally relate to Emily and still can. Her pain at losing her best friend is palpable. Her annoyance and frustration with Rufus, while still obviously liking him and caring about him feels real and endearing. The balance of the two moving trucks, one taking things away and one bringing new things is satisfying. I could go on and on.

PART OF:
Another batch of childhood memories I now own physical copies of again thanks to my amazing husband. See the complete list of books I have remembered so far here

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book and have had it sense I was a kid.

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mayer's kids look a lot like Sendak's from A Hole is to Dig and elsewhere.