Leave me alone!

I picked up Leave Me Alone! in the library the other day, and was pleasantly surprised.  Written and illustrated by Vera Brosgol, and a recipient of a 2016 Caldecott Honor, this book tells the story of an old Russian grandmother who lives with her large extended family.  All she wants is to get her knitting projects done before winter comes, but she is continually thwarted by the antics of her dozens of grandchildren.

Finally, she packs up her yarns and walks out, shouting "Leave me alone!" as a parting shot.  But peace and quiet are hard to find, and the story follows the grandmother as she travels to more and more outlandish locales in her quest for solitude. 

As someone who has said "Leave me alone!" more times than I would like to admit, I felt for this hard-working grandmother.  And my children loved the gentle humor of the illustrations, as well as the unexpected directions the story takes.  The warm colors of the pen and watercolor illustrations perfectly evoke Ms. Brosgol's native Russia, and perhaps are inspired by some real-life crotchety grandmas that she knew in the old country.  But it was the final message that stayed with me: that being alone is overrated, and in the end, home with your family is the best place to be.

Ages: 4-7 as read-aloud

Rating: A