Little Messy Marcy Su

Bouncy quatrains comprise the text of this classic-feeling contemporary romp. Fu creates a recognizably incorrigible character in young Marcy Su, the well-meaning but chaotic Chinese American protagonist of this domestic picture book debut. When Marcy’s exasperated mother, later pictured juggling an infant, asks mud-spattered Marcy to clean her room—and herself—before a Sunday visit from Wàipó and Wàigōng, Marcy and her ever-present yellow dog are determined: “Well, Marcy Su never did shrink from a task./ She thought, ‘I’ll do more than my mama had asked./ I’ll start out by running the washing machine./ Mama will say, ‘Your clothes! Hǎo gānjìng!’ ” Interspersed Mandarin is bolded, highlighted in varying colors, and smoothly incorporated into the rhyming couplets as Marcy’s cleaning plans quickly go awry, resulting in a comedic reversal. Warm illustrations by Kwon, done in colored pencil, bright watercolor washes, and digitally, amplify the fun with wryly expressive dot-eyed characters and fine-lined, intricate spreads of realistically rendered clutter. An accessibly cultural yet universal intergenerational tale. Back matter includes notes on pinyin and a Mandarin-English glossary with pronunciation tips. Ages 4–8. (Nov.)