It has been five years since a three-year-old ran our house. My son, now eight, prefers to spank a soccer ball against the wall or ride his bike with friends. On some days I miss his younger self, whose life wasn't complicated by homework assignments and schoolhouse worries. But when the folks at Flashlight Press sent me I Always, Always Get My Way about three-year-old Emmy whose parents make excuses for her mischief until she finally dresses the family pet lizard in a bikini, I remembered the other part of having a three-year-old that makes my life now look tidy and less stressful.
Emmy, like any three-year-old, has an ability to look sweet and innocent and completely incapable of doing harm. While her siblings are on to her shenanigans from the start, her clueless parents are blind to her ways until she takes it too far. With a smart, Seuss-like cadence, the rhyming structure is pleasant to read. Author Thad Krasnesky, a US Army major, employs such gentle truth to the subject that I was rather surprised to learn he is an instructor at West Point. The illustrations by David Parkins, are adorable and compelling, especially the scene in which Emmy is caught eating ice cream in the early morning in front of the TV.
Whether you currently have a preschooler or not, the book is a fun read the whole family will enjoy!
