Tell Me a Trudy

by Lore Segal, Rosemary Wells (illustrator)

Three episodes with a little girl and her "Trudy and the Copycats," "Trudy and the Dump Truck," and "Trudy and Superman"

Genres: Picture Books, Jewish

38 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1977

About the author

Lore Vailer Segal was an Austrian-American novelist, translator, teacher, short story writer, and author of children's books. Her novel Shakespeare's Kitchen was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2008.

Reviews

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

What happened to Mitzi? Why is Trudy's baby brother Jacob also?

Thank goodness for a different illustrator, but I'm not a fan of Wells. How I wish Maurice Sendak could have taken these assignments.

[Jacki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tell Me a Trudy is a picturebook for Nursery and Primary readers.

The book includes 3 individual stories about a family with a mother and father, a son named Jacob and a daughter named Truday. The stories are silly and fun, especially when the mother and father get involved in a game of copycat.

I rated the book 4 stars; I enjoyed the characters and how they interacted, they are obviously a happy family. The pictures are simple drawings, somewhat cartoonish, but defined. I enjoyed the similar facial features and body builds which help to identify that the characters are all related to one another. The lighthearted silliness in the stories will appeal to both Nursery and Primary readers. I think children who don't like to sit still for a story may enjoy the fact there are 3 individual stories in this book, children with a short attention span may be able to enjoy one or two of the stories without getting the heebie-jeebies!

This book is perfect for young children to discuss families, while it is an older book and it revolves around the "traditional" family of a mother, father and two children, the pictures are a great example of the similarities between family members.

[Little Miss and the Legomeister · Rating 4 out of 5]

These stories are obviously made up, especially the Superman one, but the characters feel so human. Like the mother who urges the cousins to share, then gets upset because her son decides to give away his new truck, and then the parents start to fight.

I love the Superman story. He comes to get the robbers (or Martians) out of the bathroom, but it's not dark yet, so he ends up watching the news and chatting with the parents. It's the complete everyday feeling of the stories that makes them so fun.

Admittedly, although I love them, they will bore many parents, (including my husband) but my experience is that kids love them.

[Libby Talley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've had this book since 1977 and just found it again. It's a great book for kids to read. :)