May I Visit?

by Charlotte Zolotow

A little girl asks if she may return home to visit when she grows up and no longer spills powder in the bathroom or knocks over the plants.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Charlotte Zolotow was a distinguished American writer, editor, and publisher who made a lasting mark on children's literature. Over her career, she authored around 70 picture book texts and edited works by prominent writers including Paul Zindel, Robert Lipsyte, and Francesca Lia Block. Born in Norfolk, Virginia, she studied writing at the University of Wisconsin Madison and later joined Harper & Bros in New York, where she worked her way up from secretary to publisher. Her own books were published by over 20 houses, and she became known for her poetic and emotionally insightful texts. Zolotow’s most celebrated works include When the Wind Stops, William’s Doll, and River Winding. Her story "Enemies" was featured in The Big Book for Peace alongside other notable authors. She lived for many years in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. Her legacy endures not only through her own writing but also through the Charlotte Zolotow Award, established in 1998 to honor outstanding picture book texts. Her contributions helped shape modern children's literature with sensitivity, elegance, and enduring relevance.

Reviews

[Lobstergirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet story. The text:

The big sister
who was married
had just gone back home.

She had come overnight
for a visit
and slept in her old room,

sat in the kitchen
having coffee with their mother.

She had helped to set the table
and talked and talked and talked.

She didn't steam up the bathroom
or spill talcum on the floor

or say, "Oh Mother!"
the way she used to.

It was nice, her being back.

When she went home

the little girl said,
"Mother,

when I grow up
may I come visit you
if I don't spill talcum
on the bathroom floor

and don't take a shower
with the curtain outside the tub,

if I don't eat muffins in the living room
where the crumbs get on the carpet

and don't use your good stationery
to draw on,

don't try on all the scarves
in your drawer

or the necklaces
in your jewelry box?

May I visit
if I don't leave Magic Marker marks
on the bedspread

or eat tonight's dessert
in the afternoon
or knock over the plant
by the doorway when I come in?

May I visit if I'm careful
to wipe my boots on the mat
when it's raining outside

and to put my umbrella
where it won't drip
all over the floor
and my raincoat too?

May I?
May I visit?"

"Of course," said her mother.
"If you feel like it.

When you're grown up,
please come and visit
because even though you do spill talcum on the floor

bump into plants
track mud on the rug
when you forget to wipe your feet

or any of those things,
it will be fun
to have you then,

just as it is now!"

Erik Blegvad's illustrations are great: pen and ink with swaths of forest green and shades of pale brown, detailed but with a minimalist color scheme. A green-shaded banker's lamp, the older sister's green Saab, the tilt of the little girl's shoulder as she draws with magic markers, the mother's wool tattersall slim skirt, the little girl in her white underwear before a bath - all these details are perfect.

[Rosa Cline · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an 'old' book published in the 70's but the meaning behind it is a sweet one. If you have a younger child and an older one that is about to be married or has married and moved away and your younger child doesn't fully understand this book is for them. The little girl's sister comes back to visit with the family after she's married. The little girl watches her sister and sees how different she is; she doesn't hog the bathroom and doesn't do some of the other things she used to do when she lived there. And how happy her mother and sister was at the visit. So the little girl thinks that it's because she does all the things that upsets her mother like not picking up her clothes, or track in mud etc. But in the end her mother reminds her that regardless of what she does she will always be welcome not because of the things she does or doesn't do but because she loves her.

[Ang · Rating 2 out of 5]

Theme: Coming back home

It's just a bit long for storytime and the text and pictures are too small.

"When I grow up, may I come visit you," the girl asks her mother, "if I don't spill talcum on the bathroom floor...or eat tonight's desert in the afternoon?" She promises her mother she will do everything right and waits for her mother's answer. When it comes, the girl is delighted, and young readers will be too! Once again, Charlotte Zolotow, the author of many extremely popular books, has written a wonderfully perceptive story about a child's feelings. Together with Erik Blegvad's engaging pictures, her story is one that children will want to visit often." - inside left jacket flap

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one's sweet.

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thin on substance. Nice pictures.

[Kati · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a visit from her significantly older, and newly wed, sister, a little girl notices how perfect the older sister has become in her adulthood, not making messes, helping their mother, making adult conversation..... and the little girl, after saying goodbye to the older sister as she returns to her own new home, is compelled to ask their mother if, when she grows up, and is very well behaved, and tidy, will it be ok if SHE comes to visit their mother? The mom's response is everything a child might hope to hear, when expressing concerns over their own lovability in light of their quirks and messes.

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A slightly melancholy story about a grown up daughter coming home to visit her mother, viewed through the eyes of a younger sibling. The illustrations by Erik Blegvad are lovely.

Read on Open Library.

[Madame Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tender story.

[Nanny B · Rating 5 out of 5]

After her married sister comes home to visit, a little girl wonders if she can when she is older since she is not as neat and tidy as her sister.
Loved the illustrations.