Terrible, Terrible
Terrible, Terrible
A Folktale Retold
When Abigail and her mom move in with her new stepfather and siblings, the house is too crowded. She turns to the rabbi, the wisest person she knows, but even Abigail isn't prepared for what happens when she follows her advice.
Buy the book
Praise
“K-Gr 4—A modern-day version of a traditional Jewish folktale. When Abigail’s mother marries a man with four children, the girl finds her new home far too crowded and chaotic and seeks help from the rabbi. The woman advises her to bring even more into the tiny house (bicycles, pets, “dozens of cousins”), creating situations that are increasingly “terrible, terrible, worse than before!” Brightly hued, cartoon illustrations nicely convey the sense of chaos, with objects, animals, and family members practically spilling off of the pages. However, the characterizations are weak, particularly those of the four stepsiblings, who remain nameless and voiceless, seeming to accept the drastic changes in their household with little more than a grimace. A timely premise in this age of blended families, this book is not as much fun as other standard versions of this story, such as Ann McGovern’s Too Much Noise (Houghton, 1967).”