The Runaway Shirt

by Kathy MacMillan (Author) Julia Castaño (Illustrator)

The Runaway Shirt
Reading Level: K − 1st Grade

Laundry is a chore, but when a child climbs in the basket, everything becomes a game.

Follow along as this mother takes a break from folding clothes to join her child in the delightful laughter of imagination.

In The Runaway Shirt, housework and pretend play come together to transport readers to a kid's world of wonder and excitement.

Each page of charming illustration is a work in joy and mirth. Who knew folding laundry could be so fun?

Select format:
Hardcover
$16.99

Kirkus

Many a young reader will giggle in recognition of similarly enacted pretend games of their own.

School Library Journal

PreS-K--Few things are as irresistible to a toddler as a pile of clean clothes. A small child dressed in an oversized shirt sneaks into the laundry basket and mischievously waits for the mother to notice. After folding "a towel, a pair of pants, and some underwear" she decides she will "fold this shirt next," scooping up her giggling offspring. "First one sleeve, then the other. Then I fold it in half" she says, but the laughing "shirt" escapes and will not stay put on the bed, in the drawer, or in the closet, scattering everything in the process. Finally, "wearing" (lovingly hugging) the wayward garment and its occupant stops the merry chase, and the pair begin folding a towel together. Castaño's vivacious yet soothingly earth-toned illustrations with bold graphic patterns bring out the humor in MacMillan's text, providing droll contrast to the seemingly straightforward narration. VERDICT An additional, but charming, purchase. With whimsical vibes reminiscent of William Steig's Pete's a Pizza, a sweet depiction of how even a mundane task can turn into a fun game given some imagination, patience, and love.--Yelena Voysey, formerly at Pickering Educational Lib., Boston Univ.

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

 
Kathy MacMillan

Kathy MacMillan is a nationally certified American Sign Language interpreter, writer, teacher, librarian, and storyteller. She is the author of the board books Nita's First Signs and Nita's Day (Familius), children's nonfiction book She Spoke: 14 Women Who Raised Their Voices and Changed the World (Familius), the young adult novels Sword and Verse and Dagger and Coin (HarperTeen), and nine books for parents, librarians, and educators, including Little Hands and Big Hands: Children and Adults Signing Together (Huron Street Press).


Manuela Bernardi is a film and TV writer based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where she was born and raised. She has collaborated on award-winning feature films and has written on shows for TV Globo, TBS, GNT, Multishow, and the History Channel. Her screenplay for the short film The Healing Tree won USC's Peter Stark Special Project grant and went on to be selected for Cannes's Short Film Corner. With a BA in journalism from PUC-Rio, Manuela got her MFA in writing for screen and television from USC in Los Angeles, which she attended on a Fulbright/CAPES scholarship.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781641702515
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Familius
Publication date
August 12, 2020
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV019000 - Juvenile Fiction | Humorous Stories
JUV051000 - Juvenile Fiction | Imagination & Play
JUV048000 - Juvenile Fiction | Clothing & Dress
Library of Congress categories
Picture books
Clothing and dress
Laundry

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