“It was an ordinary Monday morning in Walla Walla – until Lulu raised her hand in class.
‘Mrs. Bell, I feel like a nit-wit. My homework is all higgeldy-piggledy. Last night it was in tip-top shape, but now it’s a big mish-mash.‘
Mrs. Bell said, ‘Nit-wit? Higgledy-piggledy? Mish-mash? Lulu, stop that flip-flop chitter-chatter or you’ll be in double-trouble.‘ “

And thus begins this delightful picture book about a day in Walla Walla. Clearly Lulu’s condition is catching, Mrs. Bell discovers when she escorts Lulu to the principal’s office. Even the school nurse catches it by phone. But what could have caused it?

And how do they cure it?

By repeating all the crazy word combos they can think of.¹ Which they do, for several pages.

Until all is set straight again.

Or is it?

One of the things I judge picture books by is how much fun they are to read aloud, and this one is a treat, although I expect some parents would shy away from having this much fun at bedtime. The illustrations are clever – on the first page, even before Lulu opens her mouth, the other children are staring at her with trepidation, as if she often causes trouble.

I discovered this book at, of course, Book & Game Co. on Main Street, Walla Walla, Washington, home of sweet onions, The Walla Walla Sweets baseball team, and waaaaaay too many wineries, where my sister and her family have made their home for several decades.² Walla Walla is a cute town to visit and my sister loves it there, although it has changed considerably since she arrived: the food scene died after 2008-2009, returning in a half-hearted sort of way after that³; the Inland Octopus lost their battle with the “keep Walla Walla boring” commission and, to everyone else’s disappointment, had to paint over the giant purple octopus that covered their second story and added to Main Street’s charm; Macy’s closed, leaving a two-story monstrosity vacant along Main Street for years; and it got voted one of the best places to retire, encouraging vacation rental investors and rich retirees to move in, sending housing prices up to levels unaffordable to young families – which means that the charming school that Lulu goes to will probably close, leaving Miss Bell and Principal Thomas without jobs and having to commute an hour to outlying villages where houses are still affordable for small families but there’s little other work. Double-trouble for Walla Walla, indeed.

But let’s leave reality out of our enjoyment of this delightful book. If you like a picture book that is fun to read out loud, I recommend this one. Just beware, oh beware, you may find yourself in a terrible word loop, reading it over and over again with nobody going to bed.

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1. Editor friends, what do you call these kinds of words? There must be a name for it. If not, I nominate the Clement. ↩︎
2. Or rather, my sister and her husband made their home. The rest of the family came afterwards. ↩︎
3. Although Google News tells me that The Bread Company just announced they are closing. ↩︎