![Cover image for Jennifer Jones won't leave me alone / Frieda Wishinsky ; [illustrated by] Neal Layton.](https://secure.syndetics.com/index.aspx?type=xw12&client=halan&upc=&oclc=50028509&isbn=9780876149218&issn=/LC.JPG "Cover image for Jennifer Jones won't leave me alone / Frieda Wishinsky ; [illustrated by] Neal Layton.")
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Summary
Summary
Jennifer Jones is in love and she doesn't care who knows it! But the object of her affection sure does. He's embarrassed by the love poems, the terms of endearment, the cute little red heart stickers, and especially the laughter and snickers from his classmates. He wishes that Jennifer Jones would just move away. And one day, she does! There's no more sickening stickers, no more silly poems--and no more fun. Does he actually miss Jennifer Jones?
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-Percy can't get away from Jennifer Jones, who, as it is noted in the title, won't leave him alone. Through rhyming verse, he describes all the ways she shows how much she likes him, while he is totally turned off by her attention. When Jennifer's mother is transferred to Europe and the girl moves away, Percy mopes and misses her, and is delighted when he learns that she is returning home. However, his excitement does not really ring true-he has spent most of the book, after all, complaining about her. It is not clear whether he misses Jennifer Jones or the attention she bestows upon him. The illustrations are frenetic and cluttered, composed of childlike cartoons combined with some collages. The cartoons are stiff and unlifelike, almost resembling paper dolls. Don Gillmor's Yuck, a Love Story (Stoddart, 2000) is a much more successful story of a first crush.-Susan Marie Pitard, formerly at Weezie Library for Children, Nantucket Atheneum, MA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Jennifer Jones sits at the desk adjacent to the boy narrator, and her unrelenting, goo-goo-eyed ardor leaves him wishing "she could move to the jungle/ And live in a tree/ And talk to the monkeys/ Instead of to me." But when Jennifer moves to Europe instead-and, according to her letters, becomes the toast of the continent-the boy finds that the world is a much lonelier place. Losing himself in schoolwork is futile: "It's boring! It's lonely!/ I miss her a lot./ I wish she'd return/ To her usual spot." Wishinsky's (previously teamed with Layton for Nothing Scares Us) pithy rhymes spark Layton's pleasingly dizzying cartoons. His scratchy ink line brings a comic spontaneity and edginess to every scene, and succinctly conveys the boy's emotional writhing at the very thought of being the object of Jennifer's crush. Marginalia, clip art and photograph collages (Layton draws Jennifer on top of photos taken in various capital cities, savoring the pleasures of Europe) punctuate the pages and add a goofily alluring visual depth. As for Jennifer's true love, it finally does conquer all: when she sends notice that she's returning home, the boy runs out to buy a plethora of red hearts. Ages 3-8. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
When Jennifer Jones says she loves him, the narrator wishes she'd move far away so his schoolmates will stop teasing him. One day she does move, and the boy finds he misses her more than he expected. He's overjoyed when she writes and says she'll be back. The lively rhyme and energetic childlike drawings make this an entertaining read-aloud. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A case of unrequited love makes a young boy cringe until the source of adulation moves away. A typical scamp, the protagonist curls his toes in embarrassment as his desk-mate Jennifer Jones showers him with unwanted affection. Love notes and whispered endearments are the modus operandi of this pint-sized femme fatale. However, her unrequited adoration causes her would-be swain plenty of teasing in the play yard. Unexpectedly, the boy's fervent wish that Jennifer Jones would go away-to live with the monkeys in the trees or maybe even the moon-suddenly comes true. However, once Jennifer has left his side, her jilted beau longs for her return. Wishinsky's (What's the Matter with Albert, not reviewed, etc.) rhyming verses maintain a cheery tone, wryly capturing those prickly, poignant pangs of first crushes; Jennifer's amorous advances are coquettishly innocent while the boy's response is all that would be expected from someone still interested in frogs and puppy dog tails. Layton's (The Sunday Blues, p. 884, etc.) cartoon-style illustrations have a free-spirited feel to them. The full-bleed illustrations contribute to the tale's impish tone with a mix of haphazard sketches and zany collage art featuring some hilarious insertions and comical depictions. A valentine tale that will keep readers, both the lovelorn and ardently pursued, in stitches. (Picture book. 4-8)
