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Alisa is sick and tired of doing dishes. Her dislike for putting what seems like an ever-growing stack of them into the dishwasher is so great that she wishes never to do that chore again. Soon after a warning from her mother not to make such wishes, Alisa magically shrinks down and enters the dishwasher, which her mother switches on without knowing what has befallen her daughter. Amid her terror, Alisa meets friendly scrubby worms whose job it is to clean the dirty dishes and who warn her to stay away from the “Mean Mouth” that sucks away all the water afterward. Alisa survives the draining process, discovers she can fly, and finds herself in a forest where woody “Tickle Hands” becomes a safe place to fall asleep. Eventually, she escapes from the dishwasher, grows back to normal size, and never complains about doing the dishes again.
One of the best things a children’s story can do is take young readers on adventures into fantastical situations to excite their imaginations, especially when paired with a lesson like the importance of doing chores. Like Alisa, many children do not care to wash dishes, but using their imaginations can help to make the process a little more fun. Further, the illustrations that go along with Alisa’s magical journey are beautifully done and help pull readers into her story. There are a lot of creative twists about what might happen inside a dishwasher, and their dream-like quality only adds to the charm exuded by the idea of a child shrinking because of a wish made without thinking things through. As such, this story certainly achieves the goal of a fun, imaginative romp in a dishwashing wonderland.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review