Alisa is sick and tired of doing dishes. Her dislike for putting what seems like an ever-growing stack of them into the dishwasher is so great that she wishes never to do that chore again. Soon after a warning from her mother not to make such wishes, Alisa magically shrinks down and enters the dishwasher, which her mother switches on without knowing what has befallen her daughter. Amid her terror, Alisa meets friendly scrubby worms whose job it is to clean the dirty dishes and who warn her to stay away from the “Mean Mouth” that sucks away all the water afterward. Alisa survives the draining process, discovers she can fly, and finds herself in a forest where woody “Tickle Hands” become a safe place to fall asleep. Eventually, she escapes from the dishwasher, grows back to normal size, and never complains about doing the dishes again.
One of the best things a children’s story can do is take young readers on adventures into fantastical situations to excite their imaginations, especially when paired with a lesson like the importance of doing chores. Like Alisa, many children do not care to wash dishes, but using their imaginations can help to make the process a little more fun. Further, the illustrations that accompany Alisa’s magical journey are beautifully done and help pull readers into her story. There are a lot of creative twists about what might happen inside a dishwasher, and their dream-like quality only adds to the charm exuded by the idea of a child shrinking because of a wish made without thinking things through. As such, this story certainly achieves the goal of a fun, imaginative romp in a dishwashing wonderland.
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This is a well written and beautifully illustrated book that will invoke the imagination of any young person, especially as they strive to learn responsibility. The story is original and the pictures show real people doing everyday things – with a bit of imagination. This is a great read for any young person, although I enjoyed it too.
I enjoyed this action packed adventure for kids. There is a lot of imagination, and yet it is a meaningful story that I think even adults will enjoy.It is fun to read, and I like the illustrations, too. They are beautiful.I actually feel as if I go into the dishwasher!
Finally a beautifully illustrated fantasy that kids can really relate to. The story line is original and can invoke the imagination of any young person, especially as they learn to deal with responsibility. The illustrations are beautiful and done with great detail. This book has something for everyone to appreciate.
This little book features an imaginative and engaging story, and the illustrations (full color, full page and drawn by the author who is also an artist) are quite stunning. My only wish is that it could be longer! Maybe Alisa can have other adventures in new books? But enough of my opinion… Now to that of my 9 year old granddaughter who sat down to read it for herself. With bright eyes she said, “I like the story and the pictures.” When I asked her to summarize the story, she put it perfectly: “Alisa is a young girl doing the dishes. Then she becomes small in size and gets sucked into the dishwasher. There she has adventures.” My granddaughter then mentioned some of the characters she liked in particular, and even pointed out a connection between characters that I had completely missed. A beautiful book for young readers, their parents and grandparents!