Pamela Allen on Mr McGee and turning 90: ‘I’ve always known what I’m doing is good’

Penguin Australia

• ISBN: 9781761345050
• Imprint: Puffin

RRP: $24.99

In just the last week I was remembering the furore over Mr McGee’s little penis that was barely visible in Mr McGee and the Biting Flea, and chatting about it to someone. The book was released in my second year as a teacher-librarian, 1998, and, boy oh boy, was there ever an outcry about it.

The following year, I had transferred to a new library in a new school and the newly sprung up t-l listservs as well as district networks were still having argy-bargy about it. From white-out to pasted on undies and who knows what else, some people decided to deal with what they saw as offensive, much to my complete incredulity.

I actually talked to my principal about it, and said many prinicipals were also anti-, and he said ‘Do these people know that penises exist in real life? Don’t any of them have one?’ and so I knew we’d be on the same page if anything ever came up about it!

And you know what? Nothing ever did.

Let’s just for one minute, think back over Pamela Allen’s illustrious and much loved back-catalogue of titles. Which one/s would rate as favourite for you? There are some I’ve used more times than I can remember: Bertie and the Bear, Waddle Giggle Gargle, Who Sank the Boat?, Mr Archimedes’ Bath, Alexander’s Outing, and so many others. And all of them special in their own way.

But what riches we have with them all! And now, Mr McGee continues his rather ridiculous adventures when a very wild wind blows him and EVERYTHING else up and around, and down again. While he can gather up most things and finally get back to some kind of normal, he cannot find his precious hat anywhere! It’s a real cat-astrophe!!

What a relief when it finally comes to light – Mr McGee can finally settle down to sleep. Smalls will laugh a lot at this new episode, and what a great opportunity to revisit Pamela’s other books and do a real creator focus on her work. This would certainly be opportune for a literacy unit and also tie-in to other curriculum areas, as so many of the books lend themselves to other KLAs.

And really, just how marvellous and inspirational is it to know that at 90 (much like that other incredible NZ creator, Joy Cowley) she is still bringing to much joy to young readers. While the text is simple but amusing, it is Pamela’s illustrations, so full of life and humour, that will have the Smalls chortling.

I’m giving it a jolly big 5 🎩🎩🎩🎩🎩 rating for kiddos from toddler upwards!