Books I've read this week - Messy Tessy

Messy Tessy © 2009 by Leah Orr

Illustrated by Josephine Lepore

About the book: Everyday, thousands of children are left in the care of a babysitter. Have you ever wondered what mischief a child could get into if the babysitter fell asleep?

Children’s book author Leah Orr is chronicling a day in the life of a new storybook character, Messy Tessy, a beautiful and fun-loving child with a great sense of adventure. Tessy takes full advantage of her babysitter’s nap and enjoys a few hours to make a mess during her unsupervised time. Parents, along with children of all ages, are sure to enjoy the mischief she creates for herself in this fun-filled page turner.

“While “Messy Tessy” is fiction, it is based loosely on my experiences of raising three girls and the numerous messes they’ve created along this journey called growing up,” said Orr. “From playing salon stylist and cutting their doll’s hair, to decorating our walls with their crayon drawings and creating havoc during mealtime, I used many of my children’s memories to delight the readers with Tessy’s silly antics.” According to Orr, not only did her children Aly, Camy, and Ashley assist her with the story, her mother, Josephine Lepore, was the illustrator.

This is a fun children’s book with cute illustrations that look like they’ve been colored in crayon. There’s a full-page colored picture opposite each page of writing which makes it a great read-along book. The book is done in rhyme. The rhythm isn’t always correct but I don’t think a child will mind. Tessy finds LOTS of ways to amuse herself while Aunt Fran sleeps in front of the television. A parent may want to use this book to teach a lesson of what NOT to do. Of course, that includes telling the babysitter not to go to sleep and leave the child unattended! LOL

Proceeds from Ms. Orr’s two previous children’s books, “Kyle’s First Crush” and “Kyle’s First Playdate” as well as a portion of the proceeds from “Messy Tessy” are generously donated to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Ms. Orr’s daughter Ashley suffers from the disease. Messy Tessy is available through Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com .