Illustrated by J T Morrow
Published by Viking, 2019
It’s cleaning day and Llama Llama just wants to play! It’s a thorny problem, tackled by parents everywhere with growing children. Just how do you motivate them to help with the chores? So, Mama Llama asks Llama Llama to imagine what it would be like if cleaning was never done. It’s a clever idea and humorously illustrated with Mama Llama tossing rags on to the floor, throwing clean clothes up in the air, dancing around the kitchen on roller skates and leaving dirty dishes all over the sink and benches, even throwing empty snack bags over her shoulder onto the couch. The house is one big mess. The resulting chaos makes Llama Llama aware of the consequences of being untidy and he begins to understand the importance of why we clean up after ourselves.
The illustrations reflect the devil-may-care attitude of Mama and the carefree abandon of not being responsible for anything. I must admit, I could feel Mama Llama’s joy as she sat in the mess of her own making!
As with all Llama Llama books, the rhyming words almost make you sing the story. It’s a great book to read aloud with your little one and wonder together at the what-ifs of life. We all have choices: to do good or not. Children and adults always need to think about that!
There are many books in Llama Llama series, here are three of my favorites, suitable for children aged 3-5 years old:
