Tumble Tower [Hardcover]

Ann Tyler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1993 | Age Level: 4 and up

It's one thing if you're a messy little girl, but what if you're a messy little princess and your father says your room is a disgrace to the kingdom? This is the story of Princess Molly, whose hopelessly cluttered room saves the royal family. Full-color illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Princess Molly the Messy belongs to a family of royal neatniks: King Clement the Clean, Queen Nellie the Neat and Prince Thomas the Tidy. Her room in the castle's tower is a much-lamented disaster, but when a flash flood drives the family from the lower floors, the "Den of Disorder" turns out to contain all the creature comforts needed for a convivial night--spare pajamas, leftover snacks and books handily tucked under the pillow. Novelist Tyler, in her first book for children, offers a nimble, witty treatment of a somewhat worn topic. Her pithy portrayals of the hyper-organized, self-righteous royal cleaners-up will tickle all those who share Molly's talent for tumult, as will the comically exaggerated disarray of the tower (the floor harbors outgrown clothes; the window frames a flourishing orange tree sprouted from a long-ago treat). The plot's live-and-let-live moral is neatly reciprocal: Molly helps restore the castle's main quarters to shipshape condition after the flood, and the others come to appreciate just a tad of clutter in their own rooms. Debut artist Modarressi, Tyler's daughter, deftly mixes gentle colors and sharp planes in her distinctive watercolors. With the otherworldly, angular faces of the characters and the profusion of details, patterns and objects, her illustrations hint at the dreaminess of Modigliani and the cozy amiability of Ernest Shepard. Ages 4-7.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

The well-known novelist's first children's book is a gently subversive fable celebrating the rewards of disorder. Princess Molly the Messy is deplored by her family: King Clement the Clean, Queen Nellie the Neat, and Prince Thomas the Tidy. Molly's domain is the castle tower, where she keeps the floor comfortably festooned with clothes and the bed is ``lumpy and knobby with half-finished books.'' Her parents are not pleased, but Molly is vindicated when a flood drives the whole family up to her room, where they find dry clothes and leftover food lying everywhere and a cozy bed to share while Molly reads aloud. When the waters recede, she even helps them tidy up downstairs. Without condescension, Tyler presents a child's-eye view of glorious muss in a witty, economical narrative, while--in a fine picture-book debut--Modarressi (Tyler's daughter) details the disarray in angular forms and flat, carefully structured compositions, with expressive, delicately modeled faces adding a subtler dimension to Tyler's message. Good fun. (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 1 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic (September 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0531054977
• ISBN-13: 978-0531054970
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #751,833 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Children love it, too!, October 22, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Tumble Tower (Hardcover)

Although an avid Anne Tyler fan, I just discovered this book she wrote for children and I now number it among my favorites. I find it perfectly charming to see childhood "messiness" vindicated. My grandchildren (ages 8 to 13) thoroughly enjoy the book, too. I can tell they relate to "Messy Molly," although maintaining that their own bedrooms are never as messy as the wonderful two-page spread of Molly's room.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars sweetly subversive story, beautiful pictures, May 15, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Tumble Tower (Hardcover)

Can you imagine a children's book about messiness which does not end with the character discovering the error of her ways and (literally and figuratively) straightening up? Instead, Molly's free-spirited approach to storing her personal possessions is celebrated. Molly, her friends, and the family pets revel in the glorious mess, and even her uptight parents and little brother come to see the advantages of disorder. A highlight is a wordless double-page spread showing Molly's room in all its splendour. Ask your child to locate different objects, a la the "I Spy" books.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Messier is Better!!!, July 7, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Tumble Tower (Hardcover)

This book is the perfect vidication for those of us who are hopelessly sloppy. How can we contend with the celebrated neatness of this person or that person? How can we explain that there is indeed a method to our madness? We are messy for a reason! Anne Tyler does a wonderful job championing our cause and Mitra Modarressi's illustrations are perfect to keep children rivited. I read this to my friend's 7-year old, and I finally had a valid explanation for why there are "so many things on my bedroom floor."