It's Hard to Be Five: Learning How to Work My Control Panel »

Jamie Lee Curtis is mommy to Annie and Tom. Her husband, Christopher Guest, hangs her moon by making her laugh out loud daily. She hangs out in her home with friends and family and four-legged creatures, and although she doesn't look good in one, she hangs her hat in Southern California.

It's hard to be five.
Just yelled at my brother.
My mind says do one thing.
My mouth says another.

It's fun to be five!
Big changes are here!
My body's my car,
and I'm licensed to steer.

Learning not to hit? Having to wait your turn? Sitting still? It's definitely hard to be five. But Jamie Lee Curtis's encouraging text and Laura Cornell's playful illustrations make the struggles of self-control a little bit easier and a lot more fun!

This is the sixth inspired book from the #1 New York Times best-selling team of Today I Feel Silly: & Other Moods That Make My Day and I'm Gonna Like Me: Letting Off a Little Self Esteem.

Publishers Weekly

The creative team behind Today I Feel Silly amiably addresses the challenges of being a five-year-old especially the pesky problem of learning self-control. In the story's wry opening, the narrator observes, "It's hard to be five. I'm little no more. Good old days are gone. 'Bye one, two, three, four." Among the trials he faces are controlling his temper when dealing with his younger brother ("My mind says do one thing, my mouth says another"), avoiding dirt and starting school ("School seems so scary. School seems so strange. I'm only five. My whole world's going to change"). Curtis's singsong verse also focuses on some of the pluses of being five: though his brother is strapped into a stroller, the hero can walk by himself ("It's fun to be five! Big changes are here! My body's my car, and I'm licensed to steer") and school entails some entertaining activities ("At five I'm a worker a bee among bees. I build things and grow things, say thank you and please"). Cornell's buoyant, teeming spreads and spot illustrations convey the boundless energy and changeable moods of this likeable five-year-old with on-target, hyperbolic humor. Though the narrative winds to a rather corny close, this cheerful book with its clever visual details will surely appeal to fans of the collaborators' earlier books as well as those looking for a reassuring, age-appropriate tale for the kindergartner in their lives. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.