This realistic fiction chapter book by Margaret Peterson Haddix introduces six-year-old Sukie, seven-year-old Reed, and nine-year-old Brian, three kids whose parents seem to have suddenly lost their minds. Usually, when the kids do something wrong, they can predict the warning they will receive from their parents, but lately, Mom and Dad have been giving the wrong warnings for the wrong offenses. When Sukie kicks Brian, Mom says, “Waste not, want not” and for running in the house, she gets asked, “If your friends jumped off a bridge would you jump off a bridge, too?” At first the kids speculate that their parents have been replaced by robots, but when they learn the truth, they decide it’s time to give the adults a taste of their own medicine.
Say What? is a funny slice-of-life family story that is ideal for parents and kids to read aloud together. It focuses on simple everyday issues of discipline, communication, and listening skills that come up in every family, and puts a new spin on them, opening up opportunities for lots of fun discussions about how families work. The text is simple enough that new chapter book readers can read it independently, but the plot is also interesting enough that adults will stay invested in it as well. Each of the three children is a well-developed character with a unique personality. Reed’s active imagination, Brian’s bossy older brother persona, and Sukie’s sweet innocence complement each other perfectly, and the siblings’ teamwork is one of the story’s best features.
The best audience for this book will be kids who like gentler books that stick close to home. Readers who enjoy the Princess Posey, Martin Bridge, and Ellray Jakes series will feel right at home in this story, and will be pleased (as I was) to learn of Haddix’s other chapter books: The Girl With 500 Middle Names and Dexter the Tough.
I borrowed Say What? from my local public library.
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