*Review* Who Made This Mess by Laura Gehl

Genre: Children's 3-8 years

Published: August 1, 2023

Pages: 37

Mud splattered everywhere, tangled-up wool in huge piles, and carrot tops strewn about—what in the world is happening in this animal village? It’s quite a mystery! But thanks to rhyming clues, everyone will be able to easily guess the animal culprits—or will they? In this laugh-out-loud, expectation-defying picture book, Laura Gehl (May Saves the Day and The Hiking Viking) uses a rhyming mystery to help readers adjust their outlook, keep an open mind, and learn not to make assumptions.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review. 

This rhyming story is about a farmer who is woken to loud mooing from outside and when he goes to investigate he finds messes upon messes. Throughout the story, the reader is asked who they believe made each of the messes, but the actual answer is never the obvious one, but rather a silly alternative. 

The illustrations were colorful and bold, and also rather silly. I would have no problem reading this book several times as it had me giggling (although I'm sure it would get a little old after a while). I imagine the kids would appreciate when they learn the answers that aren't so obvious with multiple readings. Overall I give Who Made This Mess 4.3976 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

Laura Gehl is the author of popular picture books, board books, and early readers including One Big Pair of Underwear, My Pillow Keeps Moving, I Got a Chicken for My Birthday, the Peep and Egg series, and the Baby Scientist series. She lives in Chevy Chase, MD with her husband, four children, and large stash of dark chocolate.