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Nanette's Baguette

 Mo Willems has a special gift for titles: "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus," "Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late," "Edwina, the Dinosaur who Didn't Know She Was Extinct."


Willems's "Nanette's Baguette" is a title for the ages. I imagine, once he had the title, he found that the book wrote itself.

"Nanette" borrows from a standard trope: I run an errand for Mom. This is the stuff of Little Red, and the stuff of "Brave Irene." Nanette, a small frog, must get a baguette from the baker, Juliet. Getting to get the baguette is Nanette's biggest responsibility yet. 

Nanette strolls out onto the Parisian streets--but she stops to chat with Georgette, Suzette, and Bret (who carries his clarinet). When Nanette finally obtains the baguette, she begins taking bites--until all the bread is gone. Now Nanette feels beset with regret, and she considers a covert move to Tibet. (She might need a jet.)

In a moment of courage, Nanette returns home and "owns" what she has done. Mom responds with forgiveness, and a hug--"warm and wonderful, like a baguette." The two set out together--on a restorative mother/daughter mission, with a twist "Nanette won't soon forget."

This is a perfect book--and the rhymes seem to be a way of tipping a hat to Dr. Seuss and Sandra Boynton. I very much like the use of the pathetic fallacy (even the clouds weep for Nanette).

I bow before Mo Willems.
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  1. KathyMarch 4, 2022 at 9:41 AM

    When I lived in Paris (aged 20) I NEVER got home with the full baguette, no matter how hard I tried to wait! It should be noted that all around me people nibbled their baguettes while waiting for the light to change, the bus to come... so I felt that I was in good company at least!

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    Replies
    1. ReaderMarch 5, 2022 at 4:24 AM

      It seems basically impossible. I feel that way about salty chips ..... A friend told me to chew gum if I'm around food -- use a gum-deterrent. But life is so short!

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