"Ms. Goshsquash" by Lola Coleman is a charming rhymed story accompanied by delightful watercolour illustrations that truly bring the tale to life. While the artwork steals the show with its vibrant colours and expressive characters, the story itself left me with mixed feelings.

Coleman introduces us to the whimsical town of Drost and its enigmatic resident, Ms. Goshsquash, who has a unique way of teaching children about kindness. Through the adventures of three best friends, we witness Ms. Goshsquash's magical interventions and her efforts to guide them towards becoming better individuals.

The rhymes are catchy and add a playful rhythm to the narrative, but the story feels cluttered with extraneous details that don't contribute much to the overall plot. While the meter of the rhymes is generally well-sustained, there are moments where it falters, disrupting the flow of the story.

Despite its flaws, "Ms. Goshsquash" has the potential to serve as a valuable lesson for young readers about the importance of kindness and empathy. The whimsical atmosphere and endearing characters make it an enjoyable read, especially for children who appreciate imaginative storytelling and colourful illustrations.

While I appreciate the effort put into this book, I couldn't help but wish for a more concise and focused narrative. However, for those seeking a light-hearted tale with charming artwork, "Ms. Goshsquash" is still worth a read.

I loved the cover and I really enjoyed the book as well, it’s about three misbehaving children, and by way of rhymes Ms. Goshsquash teaches them to be good kids, it was very short but had a very important message at its heart!
Will definitely be recommending it!

Because of problems with my computer and e-reader my I didn't read the book and my copy has expired.

If you have children who don't know how to behave, don't bother to teach them right from wrong, just send them to the mean old lady up the hill. She'll kidnap them and scare the bad out of them.

The art is not bad, but the rhyming is disjointed and this idea of Ms. Goshsquash might actually be really scary for young children. I thought this was gonna be a funny little story about children who encounter an old magical lady who teaches them a lesson by making them reflect on their behavior, but the second child is literally saying "I didn't mean to be mean, I'll change." and instead of speaking with her about it, Ms. Goshsquash forces her into the door and drags her through the air into the room by force? It would be one thing if these children encountered a witch on their own, but the adults of the village know and allow this to go on rather than teaching their children? The only things these kids learn is to be afraid because they might get kidnapped. This might be a fun plot for a middle grade Goosebumps book, but not for little kids who are just learning discipline.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.

I was already not entirely on board with this book by virtue of the fact that it rhymes. Rhymes make the sentence structure unnatural. And the plot is essentially a magical lady lecturing some bullies. That makes it a hard pass from me.

It was a cute, fun, and easy read. We enjoyed the illustrations but do not find it to be one we would purchase for our book shelf.

Ms. Goshsquash by Lola Coleman is a beautifully illustrated book with a great lesson for children. #MsGoshsquash #NetGalley

I guess I should have read the description of this one a little more closely . . .

The cover led me to expect a sweet tale about a lady and her yak, but the book is really about three misbehaving children, and how Ms. Goshsquash teaches them to be good citizens. The story is told in a sorta-rhyming text that does not trip easily off the tongue. The illustrations are nice watercolors by Alexandra Ruso.

Needed more yak.

Ms. Goshsquash by Lola Coleman was not a favourite picture book of mine, and my kids did not enjoy it. The illustrations were alright, but I did not like the story. While the lesson behind this book is a good one, I felt the execution was a bit creepy and not suitable for young readers, and I mean that in a way that young children who read picture books are not the kids skipping school.

It felt very "obey these rules or there will be punishment" instead of asking the "troubled" children to consider why they acted out in the first place. I liked the looking glass aspect of reflecting how their behaviour has impacted others, but it didn't give constructive ways to overcome those behaviours. We're to believe an old woman magically scares the children into changing their ways like in the fairy tales of the past. It just felt very off for a children's picture book where we're back to having to scare children into obeying rules.

Sorry, but I am not a fan, and I won't be recommending this one. Thank you to Net Galley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. I think it's very intelligent and you can't help but love Mrs goshsquash. Great name by the way. I liked the moral of essentially putting a mirror up to ourselves to make sure that we are who we really want to be. To make sure that we treat people kindly, that we are creating more joy than we are pain in the world. I think that was a very creative and important lesson, one that often adults don't even know. I loved the simple but beautiful watercolor art. My only complaint is that the timing of each sentence changed making the rhymes feel unnatural and a bit clunky despite the fact that the rhymes themselves were good. But I say that with the recognition that that is one of the hardest things that a children's book writer can have to be faced with, so much so that publishers often look past rhyming books. I think that if the timing of the sentences matched up better, this book would be perfect. As is it's very good.

The book has such a great premise, kids being introspective and understanding how they may have hurt others.

But it’s slightly frightening.

With all seriousness, my child would be scared a Goshsquash “witch” would trap them in a mirror or lock them in a room as she did to the children in the story. I don’t think fear is the message I want my kids to associate with trying to be mindful of others emotions and how their actions have an influence on everyone around them.

Little tidbits of the story are wonderful. Reminders to try to be more considerate to those around you, such as this quote,
“There’s nothing special about being unkind. Try being respectful, and have a positive frame of mind.”

The kids end up back in class, like it was a mirage, and when one of them drops their bag, the others quickly goes to pick it up. Using their new kind and courteous attitude learned from their time with Ms Goshsqaush.

All in all I’m just not sure about this one.

This is a beautifully illustrated picture book about three children who learn a valuable lesson from a mysterious old woman (perhaps a witch) who everyone seems to know handles the bad children. The children are fearful about what exactly it is she does to bad children as she makes each one disappear one at a time. In the end she simply shows the children how their behavior has hurt other people and seeing their effect on others is what makes them choose to change.

I appreciated the message to think of how you effect others and adored the beautiful watercolor illustrations. My son really appreciated the rhyming story.

5 stars

Reading the first page or two I was excited because I expected someone similar to Ms Pigglewiggle, and I really liked the cadence of the book throughout. I loved the illustrations, but didn’t feel great about the story. It categorized the children who made mistakes as “bad” and while I like the idea of children changing their behavior after seeing the consequences of their actions, the way it was executed was more than a little creepy.

Thank you NetGalley and Dart Frog Books for a copy of "Ms. Goshsquash" in exchange for an honest review.

The old lady was shy, plump, round, always wore black and had a pet yak. She didn't like children who disrespected teachers, broke rules, skipped school and made others feel small. She helped naughty children be better. Was she a witch?

Roscoe, Tilda and Billy Bush had a lot to learn. They learned that skipping school, pushing, shoving and cussing were no way to behave. They learned quickly and were even helpful in school.

A great book to discuss acceptable and unacceptable behaviour and ways that others may be hurt by our actions.

This book was really cute overall, but the illustrations are particularly gorgeous. This picture book would be a great way to talk to children about bullying and other behaviors. Also, after reading it I would also like to be a witch with a pet yak who teaches children to be reflective about their actions.

I liked the rhyming text and the watercolor illustrations, I found the text hard to read in places (especially n's and r's) but I don't know if that is just because it is an advance digital copy. I like that this story is reminiscent of older fairy-tales where a stranger tries to teach you the error of your ways. At times this book was really strange, I still don't know what the Yak had to do with any of the story.

Ms. Gosh squash is a magical book with a great lesson for children. The illustrations are wonderfully done and the message in the story is great for children and adults alike. Thanks to Lola Coleman and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I received an ebook copy of Mrs. Goshsquash for review through NetGalley. Mrs. Goshsquash tells the tale of an old woman who knows how to make children behave. She shows three naughty children how their actions have affected others by transporting them into a mirror. Finally, the children change their behavior once they see their nastiness reflected back at them and realize they don’t like how it looks or feels. My favorite thing about this book was the beautiful watercolor illustrations, they were very well done. However, at times I personally thought that the rhyme scheme felt a bit stilted, and the message, while not bad, was conveyed in a very heavy-handed way. I also wished that the yak would have come back around in the end for a bit of closure; it seemed like there wasn’t any narrative reason for it to be there.

This is a strange, preachy little book that made me distinctly uncomfortable.

We're introduced to Ms. Goshsquash, who lives alone with her yak and apparently knows how to deal with naughty children. That sounds like a lot more fun than it is. Basically, Ms. Goshsquash takes it upon herself to be judge and jury, kidnaps a trio of children who are skipping school, and then forces them to see the error of their ways by trapping them in a magic mirror before releasing them so they can go to school and be helpful.

The yak plays no part in any of this.

While I did enjoy the watercolour illustrations, I wasn't a fan of the story. It just tried too hard to send a message. And I'm not sure that threatening children with the prospect of being kidnapped by a witch is the best way to encourage good behaviour.

This rhyming book includes a wonderful life lesson for not only kids (but also adults) to take to heart. A trip to the farm by a seasoned stern disciplinarian teaches this life lesson. She is accompanied by her pet yak.

Three best friends behave unkindly towards others and it is time to gather them together and correct that behaviour before it gets even more out of hand. The frightened children discover that how they are acting is not right and each repent of their wrong-doings. They realize that there is a better way to conduct themselves and being kind to others is essential to reach that goal.

I love the illustrations but think the font should be bigger to engage kids more in the tale. Also the cadence is troubling and often doesn't flow properly like it should. The moral of the story is wonderful.