By the end of their first night with babysitter Marge, 7-year-old Jemima's 4-year-old brother, Jake, says, "We have a royal babysitter…but we have to babysit her!"There are three chapters: "Marge Babysits," "Marge at the Birthday Party," and "Marge at Large in School." Black-and-white illustrations in a Quentin Blake-esque style show some children of diverse backgrounds, but the main characters are white, middle-class, British—and stereotypical to a fault. Jemima, who narrates in present tense, is the respectful, obedient older daughter, worried about meeting all the requirements on her mother's to-do lists; about being on time; about socializing; about Jake's obstreperous behavior, which she generously calls "naughty." In the first story, tiny Marge manipulates Jake into doing two things left on Mommy's list primarily because of Mommy's ineptness (and Dad's apparent abdication of parenting): eating broccoli and washing his hair. Marge's methods range from telling outrageous tales of her supposed previous life as a royal duchess to helping the children create enormous messes in the kitchen, bathroom, and bedrooms. When the mess still prevails with the parents five minutes away, there is no Cat in the Hat solution; somehow, the children manage to clean up while Marge falls asleep. Throughout the book, Marge vacillates between outlandish, sometimes-irresponsible behavior and jolly, imaginative storytelling and problem-solving. Younger readers with intermediate reading skills may have fun with the silliness and the surprises. (Fiction. 7-10)

Spontaneity and mayhem reign in actress Fisher-s first children-s book, which unfolds over three chapters and kicks off a series about an eccentric babysitter. Marge shows up in the guise of a strict, elderly matron, but after Jemima and Jake Button-s parents leave, Marge sheds her dowdy hat, reveals fabulously multicolored hair, and announces that she-s a duchess who has abandoned palace life. Marge regales the kids with tales of her days as a renegade royal while bringing chaos into their lives, filling the bathroom with bubbles, serving chocolate soup for dinner, saving a rained-out birthday party with magic tricks, and turning a school concert rehearsal into a free-for-all. Though the children sometimes feel that the caregiver-child roles have been reversed, Marge-s whimsy has a purpose: she manages to liberate timid seven-year-old Jemima and calm rambunctious four-year-old Jake. Both Marge and the individual stories feel stuck in overdrive, but readers will get some laughs out of the unpredictability she brings to the children-s lives, captured in Ceulemans-s buoyant b&w cartoons. Ages 8-12. Author-s agent: Stephanie Thwaites, Curtis Brown UK. Illustrator-s agency: Plum Pudding Illustration. (Oct.)

Gr 2-4Marge is a small elderly woman with long rainbow hair and a colorful personality to matchshe is often mistaken by children to be a youngster herself. When she is hired to care for Jemima and Jake Button, she proves that babysitters can be fun. The book is broken into three comedic episodes in which the kids break Mommy's rules while managing to accomplish some impossible feats, such as getting Jake to wash his hair and eat his broccoli. Marge claims to be a duchess related to the king of England and impresses the children with her stories. Young readers will enjoy following the escapades of Marge and her charges as they eat chocolate soup for dinner, watch Marge conduct an orchestra in the playground, and save a birthday party in the park, and will appreciate Marge's philosophy: "Why follow the rules when you can invent your own?" The abundant black-and-white line drawings add to the fun. VERDICT The short, funny adventures will appeal to new readers. This also works well as a read-aloud and is a great segue into the classic tales of another mischievous nanny, Mary Poppins.Annette Herbert, F. E. Smith Elementary School, Cortland, NY