Sammy and mother go shopping to buy a birthday present for Sammy's cousin Rachel, but Sammy wants every stuffed animal in the store for himself. He's convinced that having all of them will make him very happy, until Mother helps Sammy discover what is truly important in life.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
In her latest children's book, popular radio talk-show host Dr. Laura Schlessinger turns her attention to the dreaded child-in-a-toy-store phenomenon. The temptations for young Sammy (protagonist of Dr. Laura's earlier bestselling title, Why Do You Love Me?) prove to be too much when he accompanies his mother to the toy store to select a gift for his two-year-old cousin. "But I waaannt it!" Sammy whines, clinging to an armful of stuffed animals. "Having them all will make me so verrry happy." In a strategic (and wallet-emptying) maneuver, Sammy's mother buys him everything he wants, trusting that, once home with the overwhelmingly excessive menagerie, he will somehow learn a lesson. And in this story, the lesson he learns is that things do not have the power to make people happy. As his mother says, "It's how special something or someone is to you that makes you happy." This picture book is no more pleasant to read than it is to see a child whining in a store, but if its lesson sinks in, parents everywhere will breathe a sigh of relief. (Ages 3 to 7) --Emilie Coulter
From Publishers Weekly
Schlessinger (Why Do You Love Me?) returns with an overwrought smarmfest of a picture book, this time zeroing in on consumerism and greed. While buying a birthday present for his cousin at a toy store, Sammy has an attack of the "gimmes." His mother's unlikely strategy is to give in to his demands and buy all the stuffed toys to "teach him a lesson." Then, in the middle of the night, when he can't sleep because "there are just too many stuffed animals in my room," the two discuss why the new purchases were so disappointing. Sammy consequently decides to give all his new toys away to less fortunate children. An overearnest tone and dialogue manufactured to drive home Dr. Laura's message insults the intelligence of readers and their parents ("Let's find those children and give them each one of these toy animals so they can feel loved and protected," suggests Sammy, to which his mother replies, "Yes, Sammy, let's do that tomorrow at the children's shelter"). McFeeley's cartoonish artwork provides little added value to this forgettable venture. Ages 3-7.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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More About the Author
Dr. Laura Schlessinger received her Ph.D. in physiology from Columbia University and holds a post-doctoral certification from the University of Southern California and licensing in Marriage and Family Therapy. She is the author of nine New York Times bestsellers, including THE PROPER CARE AND FEEDING OF MARRIAGE. Her award-winning radio program is internationally syndicated by her Take On The Day company. It's broadcast every day on more than 250 stations, XM Satellite Radio, and the Armed Forces Network, and is stream-linked and podcast on www.drlaura.com.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
29 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
But I Don't Waaant This Book!,
By
This review is from: Dr. Laura Schlessinger's but I Waaannt It! (Hardcover)
The first time I read this book was out loud to my son (usually I read them to myself first) and I stopped short as soon as I realized that the mother bought the screeching child all of the toys to pacify him! I thought, What kind of message is this? Even though they end up giving the new toys away at the end (only the new toys mind you), the book didn't redeem itself in my eyes. In my view, immediate gratification of a child's selfish wishes and dealing with the consequences later is not a way to handle a dispute with a four year old. I chose to go back and re-read this book to my child saying that Sam's mommy shouldn't have bought all of the toys Sam wanted and that she was a silly, pretend mommy who only lives in a book, because no REAL mommy would do that. I feel like one silly Mommy myself for buying a children's book without reading it first but I thought that the famous Dr S would have a good message to tell. I was wrong. If you are a parent who indulges your child's each and every whim, well then, go ahead and buy this book for them too because you would be the type of person who might enjoy it.
42 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
I wouldn't waaannt to read this to a child,
By A Customer
This review is from: Dr. Laura Schlessinger's but I Waaannt It! (Hardcover)
Dr. Laura's newest children's book sends a terribly mixed message to children and parents. When Sammy's mother takes him shopping for a birthday present for another child, he throws a temper tantrum in the store because he wants everything he sees. Instead of taking him out of the store, his mother goes ahead and actually buys all the toys for him, hoping that he will come to the conclusion that having everything won't make him happy after all. While Sammy may realize that things don't make him happy, he also has found a way to get what he wants. I can't help but wonder which lesson the child hearing this story will actually come away with.
15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Good message, bad delivery,
By A Customer
This review is from: Dr. Laura Schlessinger's but I Waaannt It! (Library Binding)
I think Dr. Laura's book has a good message, but she has delivered it in an unfortunate way. The books is about a child who cries and cries for certain items, and the parent gives in a buys them for the child--the message being "If you have these items, does it satisfy you." That is a fine message. However, I think Dr. Laura's writing is just a bit sloppy because that message gets kind of lost in all the crying and begging. This isn't great writing for children in the end; it's a good concept, poorly executed. The illustrations are nice, though. I decided to get rid of my copy of the book finally; the book is just too problematical. I wouldn't recommend that parents rely on it as a way of teaching your children this message, I think you can do better with real-life scenarios or hunting for better writers.
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