Heckedy Peg-Audrey Wood September 16, 2007
Why is it that kids are so fascinated with scary stuff? Actually, I don’t think they’re fascinated with “real” scary things, but books and movies and campfire tales and peek-a-boo delight them to no end. And one of those “delightful” scary things? Why no other than Heckedy Peg, a book by Audrey Wood. The mother in our story is off on an errand to town. Each of her seven children (for being so good) is to be brought back one requested item. Before she leaves, the mother admonishes Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday not to play with fire and not to let a stranger in. Exit Mom. Enter children playing with fire and letting in the tricky and oh-so-nasty Heckedy Peg. Heckedy Peg changes the children into “dinner”, loads them into her cart and takes the “food” to her hut. It’s up to the returning mother to discover her children (Thank goodness for nosy blackbirds,) and heroically save the day. Let’s see: We have fire; transmutation (hey); kidnapping; strangers; faux dismemberment; drowning and egg pudding. What more could a child desire in a book? Okay, maybe not the egg pudding. The pictures by Don Wood are impeccably done-could we expect less? Oh, back to that Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday thing-interestingly, that’s how most of the students visiting the library ask for the book: “Where’s that Tuesday Sunday book?” You gotta love it.
Heckedy Peg
Written by Audrey Wood
Illustrated by Don Wood
Accelerated Reader RL 3.2
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