Title: Charlie and the Biggest Bunch of Flowers
Text, Concept, Illustrations: Janet Allison Brown, Fiona Hayes, Samantha Chaffey
Reviewed by: Jack
Charlie wakes up and realizes today is his mother's birthday. He jumps out his window to find a gift, but it's OK because "Charlie lived in a bungalow, so he didn't hurt himself."
He plucks flowering weeds from the family lawn that Dad is presently mowing. Then Charlie climbs back through his window and surprises Mom, telling her he obtained the flowers through witchcraft ("I'm magic.")
Mom is dumb as dirt in this book series. She doesn't recognize the lawn weeds and praises Charlie for spending his allowance on flowers.
This book is part of the Rock-a-Bye Bears series. Here's what happens in two other books:
In Charlie and the Ruby-Red Ribbon, Charlie nabs Mom's favorite ribbon from her clothes line and soils it while playing around. Mom is confounded when she finds her dirty ribbon, so her little angel Charlie runs and washes the ribbon in an inflatable pool. Mom then applauds her perfect child.
In Charlie and the Golden Key, Charlie finds a key and tries inserting it into every keyhole in the house. When he puts the key into the family's grandfather clock, the clock begins ticking. Mom praises Charlie because "that clock hasn't worked for twenty years."
I can't wait for the sequel where Charlie learns about electrical sockets and power cords, miraculously fixing all of Mom's kitchen appliances.
