Review: Who Can Fix It? by Leslie Ann MacKeen

Who Can Fix It? is a delightful problem-solving picture book for young readers, written and illustrated by Leslie Ann MacKeen.

On his way to his mother’s house for Sunday dinner, Jeremiah T. Fitz’s car comes to a complete stop and then quits running altogether. Jeremiah wonders aloud who can fix his car and despite visits by the likes of Kara Kangaroo, Elmo Elephant, Gloria Gorilla, Petunia Peacock, Barnabus Bear and several others, all of whom offer Jeremiah encouragement and unique ideas to fix his car, no one is able to find a solution.

It’s not until the last animal comes along and is able to shed some light on the problem that Jeremiah is finally able to fix his car and make it to his mother’s house in time for dinner. Jeremiah’s arsenal of problem-solving techniques are relatively straightforward, allowing a child to identify the various objects he uses in his efforts to start his car. Young readers are sure to find humor in some of Jeremiah’s outlandish antics like hanging from a tree and trying to scare his car into starting.

The book is enormously clever, as each animal that helps Jeremiah ties in to the car theme. Kara Kangaroo suggests that Jeremiah gives his car a “jump,” but instead of using the jumper cable to jump-start the car, he uses the jumper cable as a jump rope, while Elmo Elephant sagely suggests that Jeremiah look in the “trunk” of the car for a solution.

While this is a fun bit off wordplay, it also slyly teaches children about homonyms, so the book has more than meets the eye on first glance. The story also has an important message about helping someone in need, as well as a lesson on diversity, as every character has a different solution to bring to the table based on their unique appearance and abilities. A book with a strong message in a lighthearted story, it teaches about never giving up and the idea that everyone can bring different ideas to the problem-solving table.

MacKeen’s illustrations are simple yet colorful, immediately drawing the reader’s eye. All of the animals are immediately recognizable, yet creatively drawn, with a static setting, allowing children to focus on each animal in turn, whereby they can easily identify the aspects that make each animal unique. Each animal illustration does have the appearance somewhat of being pasted on, with a slight white outline, but it also has the feel of stop-motion animation, making it seem like the illustrations could move on the page.

All of this is quite remarkable considering that MacKeen was only nine years old when this book was first published, winning a student award in 1988, which gives the book an added layer of meaning that other children’s books of this caliber do not have: it can inspire children to write and illustrate their own stories. This, above all, may be the most impressive element of this enchanting book.

Fun and interactive, Who Can Fix It? is an ideal first picture book to introduce problem solving and wordplay to a young audience.