Paco Packs His Bag

Little Paco is outta here. ""This time it's for real,"" he says. He's tired of sleeping in ""the worst bed,"" tired of being the only boy (plus the youngest) out of 12 children, and tired of being ignored by everyone ""except for mom, of course."" Paco's dream is to find a rich, childless gentleman who dotes on him. But Tich (Who Is that Monster?) knows better-which is why, despite wry, naïf pictures by Amelio-Ortiz and Ja;ntti, this is no Spinky Sulks. After allowing Paco free rein for his ruminations-even to the point of his imagining what it would be like inside his rich benefactor's palace (featuring ""a table with the most amazing desserts"")-Paco gets a brisk deflating by his creator. ""Paco is the way he is. When he doesn't get enough attention he gets mad and starts to pack his bags. He always threatens to go very far away but barely makes it past the front porch."" Having dismissed Paco's feelings, Tich cautions readers: ""He knows that if he goes too far, the magic of it all might disappear and he may not find his way back."" In other words, Paco's feelings, however intense and real they seem at the time, are not only silly but destructive, too. This message may feel empathetic to the author, but kids may well detect a patronizing undertone. Ages 5-7.