Changes

As far as the book's message goes, it is terribly moral without being 'moralising' - I have not been annoyed by it at all and I am generally pretty sensitive to 'be a good girl' type of patronising (you have probably noticed that it wasn't only my daughter that identified with Naughty Lily). Apart form from the clear and obvious moral mentioned above there is also another one, maybe more parent-directed, which works especially when you accept the magical solution. The kangaroo doesn't blame Lily, he doesn't hold the fact that she treated him in a rotten way against her. In fact, the kangaroo loves Lily unconditionally - more unconditionally perhaps than the mother - and thus is an excellent example of a role of a cuddly toy: to be a transitional object and provide comfort and substitute love.

As with all real-life based books , its appeal will be probably age-limited; I was lucky to find it just when it matched my daughter's developmental phase. I would recommend it for ages between 2 and 6. I wouldn't perhaps buy it for a boy as a present as the main character is quite clearly a girl, but I am sure boys would enjoy having it read to them too. The setting of the story is white middle -class suburban (they live in a house, the bedroom is upstairs, there is a sandpit in a fairly big garden and the person that gets pelted with clothes chucked from the window by Lily is a certain 'Aunt Jemima'); but it doesn't play a big role in the story and the book should appeal across a broad spectrum of readers.

For another look at naughtiness and an exasperated parent, check out [[We Are Wearing Out The Naughty Step by Mick Inkpen]]. We've also enjoyed [[Mimi and Momo: No More Kissing! by Emma Chichester-Clark]].