SQUASHED IN THE MIDDLE
by Elizabeth Winthrop & illustrated by Pat Cummings
An ignored middle child takes matters into her own hands and teaches her family how to listen in this humorous domestic drama. Daisy has a dilemma: Her mother, father, older sister and younger brother are so busy talking “to” Daisy, “about” Daisy, or “over” Daisy’s head that no one pays attention to what she says. Daisy is definitely “squashed in the middle” of her very noisy family. She tries to tell everyone she is going to sleep overnight with her new friend Rosa, but no one hears her. So Daisy packs her nightgown, toothbrush and stuffed duck and leaves. When her family arrives en masse at Rosa’s house to retrieve her, Daisy finally finds her voice and gets the attention she deserves. Bright, sassy illustrations in a mixed media of watercolor, gouache, colored pencil and pastels successfully showcase Daisy’s frustration, irritation and eventual triumph. Sure to hit the mark with the middle child in everyone. (Picture book. 5-9)