I was looking at the online reader copies I have available to me, and up popped Market Day (I Like to Read Comics). I almost passed on this cute story that has all my pet peeves in reverse (more on that in a minute). But I decided to give Miranda Harmon’s January 2024 early reader a shot. Now either I missed it or the main characters are from another story, bit I never saw the names of the three main characters, but the publisher’s content gives the names of our young heroes as Nutmeg, Cinnamon, and Ginger (one is mentioned in this book but I didn’t see the other names). And since Nutmeg, Cinnamon, and Ginger is a lot to write, they will be known as The Kittens.
Now some pet peeves I have in a book are naughtiness, not paying for items, rudeness, children being spoiled by getting what they want just because or because they “wished hard enough” (I mean I really wish for a million dollars, tax free, to fall into my bank account but…). Therefore the reverses that happens are: The Kittens did not get into trouble (surprising as they seem to be those kittens where mittens were involved); they actually paid for things (granted most markets do not accept “things” (a scarf or bread) as trades, but at least goods exchanged hands. And yes, money was the main unit of purchase); The Kittens realize that just because you want something you cannot always get/have it (they did not have enough money for the nice gift they wanted to give to their mother); and people said thank you after receiving their item(s).
The illustrations are sweet, simple, but not simplistic and are fleshed out enough to let you see what is happening as much as the text tells. The online version of them is colorful and attention grabbing. It works well as a read-aloud but also a solo read for the more solid reader. That story is easy enough; The Kittens help mom at the market, they go off exploring, thinking that their mother deserves a surprise like the one she is planning for them when they come back from learning about and seeing the market.
