A Squash and a Squeeze--based on a traditional folktale and originally published in the U.K. in 1993--was the first picture book written and illustrated by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, the creators of The Gruffalo, Stick Man and Room on the Broom.
A little old lady is feeling hemmed in by her small house, even though she lives there all by herself. She asks for some advice: "Wise old man, won't you help me, please?/ My house is a squash and a squeeze." The white-bearded man suggests that she bring her hen inside. As the hen lays eggs, flaps around and knocks over jugs, the place feels even tinier. The lady returns to the wise man, who advises her to take in her goat: "The little old lady cried, 'Glory be!/ It was tiny for two and it's titchy for three./ The hen pecks the goat and the goat's got fleas./ My house is a squash and a squeeze.' " A pig and a cow move in next.
In the end, the wise old man tells her to evict all the animals. Suddenly, by contrast, her house feels "gigantic," and she has no more cause to grumble: "And now she's full of frolics and fiddle-de-dees./ It isn't a squash and it isn't a squeeze." Refreshingly, the madcap story does not end with her missing the disruptive animals and inviting them back in to live with her. This story-hour standout trips off the tongue in a way that's sure to tickle the wee-est of wee. --Karin Snelson, children's & YA editor, Shelf Awareness