I Can Fix It!

In this upbeat picture book, the legendary team of Robert Munsch (author) and Michael Martchenko (illustrator) return with the story of Taylor and the blanket she treasures more than anything else. The book follows Taylor’s relationship with her blanket from birth to the age of six, the two inseparable over the years whether indoors, outdoors, on a tricycle or in her kindergarten cubby. When Taylor is six, her brother Jordan mistakenly uses the blanket to mop up spilled chocolate ice cream, and his multiple, creative attempts to fix his mistake manage to first colour (yellow, then green, then purple) then shrink the blanket beyond recognition. Taylor, of course, is not in the least amused by this turn of events and begins screaming that her brother has “killed [her] blanket!” Amidst her revenge trashing Jordan’s room and all the “teenager stuff” within, their mother intervenes and gallantly declares, “I think I can fix it.” Their mother then retrieves her own baby blanket from their attic and tells her daughter of how she and her blanket were similarly inseparable throughout her childhood and how she has kept it all these years. The blanket is then passed on to Taylor who accepts it gratefully, but, in the final pages, she continues to “fix up” her brother’s room, achieving her revenge.

Martchenko and Munsch continue to work in harmony, with Martchenko’s playful illustrations, using bright colours liberally to aid the fun silliness of the story, complementing Munsch’s humorous and comforting prose. Like most of Munsch’s stories, I Can Fix It, with plenty of material both verbal and visual for the storyteller to draw children’s attention to along the way, can function as either a lap read or for storytimes with more than one child,.

Though unlikely to achieve the cult status of The Paperbag Princess or I Have To Go!, I Can Fix It! confirms the pair’s continuing ability to tell a story that’s both heartwarming and humorous, one featuring sibling conflicts at absurd extremes that nonetheless ring true to anyone with a sister or brother. For those looking to fill their shelves with more Munsch, I Can Fix It! is a familiar addition to the catalogue.