The Lemonman: A Party, Some Rain and Wiggleworm Lane. Natasha Ferrill. Illustrated by José Pou. n.p., Applenook Publishing (www.thelemonman.com), 2013. 32 pp., pbk., $11.95. ISBN 978-0-9869464-1-7. Kindergarten-grade 2 / Ages 5-7. Review by Inderjit Deogun. **½ /4

excerpt:

“Mr. Lemonman, I have a proposition and I need it to be heard,” Wormington said with great conviction as he stated every word.

“The Worm Community needs your help, we need more rain to fall, And we know how to make it happen, we’re just a bit too small.”

“But how can you force the rain to fall or tell the sun to go back to bed?” The Lemonman asked with great curiosity, and then this is what Wormington said.

“Down Wiggleworm Lane, at the end of town, stands a very magical wall, It’s built with bricks far into the ground and it’s at least one hundred feet tall!

By the wall there is a lever, bright green and somewhat round, All that needs to be done is to turn it, so the lever points down to the ground.”

“We would do it ourselves,” one worm piped up, “but we’re much too weak and small, But you, on the other hand, are much stronger and not to mention quite tall!”

It’s a typical April afternoon until Mr. Lemonman is invited to a tea party at Wormington the Third’s home. Upon Mr. Lemonman’s arrival, he learns that this is no social call. Instead, Wormington has a proposition: he wants Mr. Lemonman to make it rain by turning a very important lever. Mr. Lemonman wholeheartedly agrees to help his new friends, not thinking anything could possibly go wrong.

     Natahsa Ferrill’s A Party, Some Rain and Wiggleworm Lane is the second book in “The Lemonman” picture book series, the first being The Lemonman: A Picnic, a Toad and Swampwater Road. This second installment is not only sweet and endearing but also educational with a strong moral. Ferrill highlights a number of themes, including consequences, the environment and morality but does so in a relatable way. Though the story, itself, is wordy at times, Ferrill’s rhyming couplets are almost always perfectly paced. She cleverly identifies the untrustworthy villain of the story, Wormington the Third, by making him a worm and not a fruit or vegetable like all the other residents of Applenook. A Party, Some Rain and Wiggleworm Lane is a fun and playful tale that children will not be able to resist.

Recommended.

Inderjit Deogun is a communications professional in Toronto, ON.

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