After the death of their father, the Darrow family isn't doing particularly well, with each member locked into her or his own world and ignoring the others. When their request for a nanny is answered by the mysterious Mr. Gedrick, the family finds their world being turned upside down ... and maybe just right side up again.

The premise of this book is good, but I think the execution just isn't there. It could be a serious look at grief, but the tone is all wrong for that. Alternatively, it could be a magical romp ala Mary Poppins (which is what I feel like it's trying to be), but the magic is so slight that it doesn't seem to quite be that either. The book has some decent jabs at traditional gender roles in having a male nanny and in having Ms. Darrow being the main breadwinner (even when Mr. Darrow was alive), but then it missteps by using phrases like "manny" and "Mr. Mom." At the end, there is one sentence tacked on about a potential new man in Ms. Darrow's life, which was so forced it wasn't funny; the idea that the Darrows will only be happy again with another husband/father figure seems to negate much of what the book was trying to say before this.

What fell flat the most for me were the characters. With a book like this, the characters are a HUGE part of it. Most of the Darrows were thinly drawn; Stanley has the most to him and he comes across as a bit obnoxious at times. And, the mysterious Mr. Gedrick isn't really all that exciting at the end of the day.

That all being said, I am obviously not the target audience for this book. Possibly my jaded attitude influenced my negative opinion of the book; a further possibility is that young children will enjoy this book far more than I did. ( )