Ginny Goblin Is Not Allowed to Open This Box

April 30, 2018
Ginny the goblin is a small, behorned, acid-green creature, and the titular box is large and round, with a gift tag attached to it. The story’s real star, though, is the voice of a sly, magically omniscient narrator. It knows how Ginny is feeling (“But she really wants to know what’s inside”) and what the house rules say (“Not until dinnertime”), and it comes up with ever-sterner security measures (“What if we put the box way up on a shelf?”). What it’s really doing is egging Ginny on as she wields ingenuity, initiative, and flat-out superpowers to get to the box: “She should not, for any reason, catapult little goats at the top of the shelf to knock the box down.” The lighthearted line drawings by Thomas (88 Instruments) bring a mid-’60s cartoon vibe to the pages, a feeling of urbane restraint that reins in Goodner’s feverish visions. Never fear—readers do get to find out what’s in the box (“Now I’m really curious about what’s inside!” the narrator confesses), but the joy is all in the getting there. Ages 4–7.

May 1, 2018
She may not be allowed to, but the eponymous green-skinned, overalls-clad monster thinks of many magnificent, creative ways to open that box before dinnertime.Ginny's large head sports huge, white eyes with long, dark lashes, a cheerful, two-fanged grin, and two pointy ears--one of which is torn. In other words, she is undoubtedly a nonharmful sort of goblin. After the text makes it clear that Ginny is not allowed to open the box until dinnertime--but "she really wants to know what's inside"--it asks, "What if we put the box way up on a shelf?" Next, readers learn the many (often absurdly hypothetical) things that Ginny Goblin is not allowed to do in order to reach the box, including using a rope and a grappling hook or building a catapult or poking at "scaly, scary serpents" in a "murky moat." Needing to wait until dinnertime strikes a familiar chord with this age group and becomes an appropriate refrain. Lighthearted, cartoony artwork mostly supports the text's tongue-in-cheek tone, leading to laughs about the outlandish suggestions. However, slapstick images of Ginny's body slamming against a stone tower and, later, Ginny clobbering serpents may strike many as unnecessarily violent. Suspense builds when Ginny temporarily turns her attention away from opening the box. The closure of knowing what's inside is supplemented by a punchline well understood by children who have been given boundaries by adults.A funny read-aloud with (mostly) chuckle-inducing illustrations. (Picture book. 4-6)

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January 1, 2019
"Ginny Goblin is not allowed to open this box. Not until dinnertime." The (offstage) narrator concocts increasingly elaborate schemes to stop the cunning Ginny. Finally, at dinner, Ginny (and the now-curious narrator) are overjoyed to discover cake inside for dessert...once Ginny finishes her peas. Goodner's droll, effectively repetitive text and Thomas's carefree pen-and-ink and gouache illustrations capture a child's insatiable curiosity and boundless ingenuity.

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