Allen & Unwin Australia
ISBN 9781848125339

Publisher:Bonnier

Imprint:Piccadilly Books

Pub Date:August 2016

RRP $14.99

Comedian, actress, mother and now author, Isla Fisher takes domestic anarchy to a new level with these stories about a baby sitter who is definitely not average. Jemima and Jake do not want a new babysitter. They especially don’t want one that looks so old, so sensible and so small. But as soon as their parents leave the house and Marge is in charge look out! Things get crossed off Mummy’s list and others are added – and they are definitely not what Jemima and Jake would expect!

As soon as Marge takes off her hat and reveals her long rainbow hair, the children suspect that things might be more fun than they had expected. They certainly are when the kitchen becomes a zone for anything goes, the bathroom is filled with soapy foam, pet snails are allowed to race on the table and Marge uses hair dye as a face mask – and that’s just the beginning. It’s rather like hiring the Cat in the Hat to be a babysitter in fact.

Isla Fisher has been telling her three children bedtime stories all their lives and this was the genesis of Marge in Charge. As one might expect from a household that includes Sacha Baron Cohen the results are hilarious and full of the uproarious unconventionality that children love.

Highly recommended for readers around 8 and up and this would definitely make a fun read aloud – perhaps you could include some discussion about ‘rules’ *wink* !