Something Might Happen [Hardcover]

Helen Lester (Author), Lynn Munsinger (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

Twitchly Fidget won’t shampoo, eat his cereal, or put on his sneakers. He won’t even go to a parade (what if he got sucked up into a trombone?) or a marshmallow roast (might he get stuck?) or a Fourth of February party (would he be buried in confetti?). In Twitchly’s imagination, each opportunity poses the threat of disaster. So he just sits alone in his dreary, windowless, doorless hut and waits for his fears to be realized. Then one day something does happen: Twitchly’s Aunt Bridget Fidget drops in for a visit, and she can see right away that Twitchly needs a fixin’. But will Aunt Bridget be able to persuade Twitchly to confront his fears?

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

PreS. Little lemur Twitchly Fidget is afraid of everything. He refuses to wash his fur because the shampoo bubbles might not rinse out. He's afraid to put on his sneakers because he might put them on the wrong feet. Worst of all, he's afraid to leave his house to join his friends. Then bossy Aunt Bridget arrives, and when she scrubs Twitchly's fur and puts his sneakers on his feet, Twitchly can't believe that nothing bad happens. Emboldened, he strides out to try all the things that he used to dread. Lester and Munsinger combine talents once again in a winning story that perfectly captures a preschooler's fears of independence. Lester elevates the story's simple message with upbeat words and appealing rhythms, while Munsinger's ink-and-watercolor pictures create an irresistible character in fretful Twitchly, saucer-eyed with fear at first, then beaming with pride by the story's end. Pair this with Kevin Henkes' Wemberly Worried (2000) and give to anxious children who think their sippy cup is always half empty. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"Lester and Munsinger combine talents once again in a winning story that perfectly captures a preschooler's fears of independence." Booklist, ALA

"Once again, Lester's and Munsinger's wry humor is impeccably in sync and on point. Twitchly just may teach kids who tend to twitch a lesson about facing fears." Publishers Weekly

"A story full of wit, humor, and frivolity... A superb read-aloud." School Library Journal

"...fans of Lester and Munsinger will welcome this personable animal antihero." The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (September 29, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618254064
• ISBN-13: 978-0618254064
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 8.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #318,227 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Helen Lester has published The Wizard, the Fairy, and the Magic Chicken in 1983, in collabroation with Lynn Munsinger. They have also worked together on the hilarious Tacky the Penguin series and many other wildly funny and popular titles, including the award-winning Hooway for Wodney Wat. Helen Lester is a full-time writer who makes her home in Pawling, New York.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Twitchly Fidget is afraid that something (bad) might happen, November 15, 2003

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Something Might Happen (Hardcover)

Twitchly Fidget is a young lemur who worries about absolutely everything bad that might happen to him, even though nothing has so far. But it might. He could put his shoes on the wrong feet and walk cross-legged for the rest of his life. This and other thoughts keep Twichly from doing anything, which means he does not get to enjoy anything either, like the parade all the other kids are going to go watch. Fortunately, one day Twitchly Fidget's Aunt Bridget Fidget drops in for a vidget, um, a visit, and she shows her young nephew that his fears are unfounded.

"Something Might Happen" is told by Helen Lester and illustrated by Lynn Munsinger. This particular pair has collaborated on dozens of similar books, from "Tackylocks and the Three Bears" and "Score One for the Sloths" to "Hooway for Wodney Wat" and "It Wasn't My Fault." In these times when the nightly news can give young kids ample reason for being anxious, "Something Might Happen" teaches young readers that letting your imagination add to your anxities is not a good thing. Lester dedicates the book to her son Robin, "who chose to be there when something happened," and hopefully young readers will feel the same when they finish this story.

If you have a child who is anxious about what is happening in their world, then this book could well be a remedy of sorts. The story is structured so that Aunt Bridget disposes of all of Twitchly's fears one by one, providing a nice sense of symmetry. Munsinger's artwork does a nice job of turning the frightened little lemur into one who goes out into the world to see what might happen next.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars His imagination always sees disaster in any situation, October 7, 2003

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Something Might Happen (Hardcover)

Helen Lester's Something Might Happen receives Lynn Munsinger's delightfully zany color drawings as it tells of Twitchly Fidget, who is afraid to go anywhere or do anything. His imagination always sees disaster in any situation, so he stays indoors and waits for adventure to come to him - which it does, with an unusual twist.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A big favorite, March 29, 2009

By 

Debra Bennett (Mesa, AZ) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Something Might Happen (Hardcover)

This is one of those very very favorite books. This little guy is afraid of everything! It's helpful for little kids to let them know that some things are just silly to be afraid of. In the end he's not afraid any more and it's really neat to show them you can get thru fear of stuff. Really well done.