It's Hard to be Five: Learning How to Work With My Control Panel

by Jamie Lee Curtis, Illustrations by Laura Cornell

Joanna Cotler Books, September, 2004.
Picture Book, 40 pages.
ISBN: 0060080957
Ages 4-8

It's Hard to be Five: Learning How to Work With My Control Panel by Jamie Lee Curtis

Ah, the perils of being five! The little boy in Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell's new book would prefer to be dirty, not wait his turn, and bite the boy next to him who cut in line. But being five means a major change: going to school, which requires mastering the art of self-control. "It's hard to be five. It takes Superman skill. Sitting in circles. Sitting so still." The precocious five year-old must learn to say please and thank you, and wash his face -- the illustrations conveying the young narrator's conviction that his parents are overly obsessed with the cleanliness of his face. But there are fun things about being five, too "I walk to karate. I walk with closed eyes. I walk like a ninja chopping bad guys." Laura Cornell's vibrant watercolors are full of emotion and energy, and they reflect the chaos that is a group of five year-olds, especially when there seems to be a lack of adult supervision. This is a wonderful addition to Ms. Curtis' growing body of children's books, which present an optimistic view of the world, while pointing out those little challenges that we all face along the way to adulthood.

It's Hard to be Five: Learning How to Work With My Control Panel is available for purchase on Amazon.com

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This review was published in the September-October, 2004 of The Internet Writing Journal.