Kirkus
Reviews
December 15,2006
An inventive grandma, a noisy door, and a bevy of barnyard animals provide the perfect ingredients for a rib-tickling tale in this adaptation of a Puerto Rican folksong from MacDonald.
...DePalma's full-color illustrations highlight the hilarity, depicting the intrepid Grandma dutifully cleaning up and then dressing each animal in pajamas for bedtime. A true gem, this rollicking tale will become a storytime favorite. A historical note on the origins of the tale is included in the end page. (Picture book, 3-6)
Booklist
December 2005
MacDonald--storyteller, author, and children's librarian brings her experience to bear in this straightforward retelling of an old favorite, distinguished by the way the words are set down on the page.
...The art is as distinctive as the text. DePalma's illustrrations, diminutive and detailed, envision a cozy home and loving grandma, whose comical endeavors to outfit animals in pj's and kiss them goodnight ("smack!") brim with clever touches...
Numerous spot illustrations make this impractical for pajama parites, but for lap sharing before bed, it is just perfect.--Stephanie Zvirin
School
Library Journal
January 2006
... DePalma's bright and colorful cartoon illustrations are full of humorous details
...this book is best suited for one-on-one sharing and is also a great choice to add to storytelling repetoires.--Elaine Lesh Morgan, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR
The
Squeaky Door
Retold
by Margaret Read MacDonald
Illustrated by Mary Newell DePalma
HarperCollins Publishers 2006
ISBN-10: 0-06-028373-4
ISBN-13: 0978-0-06-028373-5
The Washington Post
Book World
February 12, 2006
The Squeaky Door, a Puerto Rican folk yarn retold by Margaret Read MacDonald (HarperCollins, $12.99; ages 3-6) is laugh-out-loud hilarious.
...all of Mary Newell DePalma's illustrations are gems: I think Lola would particularly appreciate the cat's pink eyeshade and the horse's pajama-clad legs sticking every which way out of bed.--Elizabeth Ward