A delightful story that reminds us where the source of true inspiration lies
by Kathleen T. Pelley
Pictures by Michael Chesworth
Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ISBN: 0-374-33606-7
Ages 4-8
Reading Sample #1: (length: 8 secs.)
Reading Sample #2: (length: 15 secs.)
 "Hector McGregor lived in a higgledy-piggledy house with a cheery wife, five children, and a hen called Hattie."
Because he can invent just about anything to make the world a little better, folks call him Inventor McGregor. In between his work, he likes to stroll down the winding lane behind his house, where he sings a snippet of a song, paints a picture, and twirls a whirl of a fling. But when he takes a real job in the city away from his daily distractions, Inventor McGregor finds it's not so easy to invent. Deprived of his usual diversions, he discovers the true source of his inspiration... Reviews"Pelley is a native of Scotland, and her text is peppered with colorful expressions ("[he] played a rousing reel or a sweeping strathspey, while...[his family] whirled and whooshed and wheeched"). There is a natural lilt to the language that lends it a folkloric quality. Chesworth's exuberant cartoons capture Hector's joyful family life as well as his forlorn isolation. This charming tale could be coupled with Uri Shulevitz's The Treasure (Farrar, 1979) for a discussion of appreciating what lies directly in front of you."
- Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ
School Library Journal
"Local author Kathleen T. Pelley brings her Scottish sensibility to this rousting tale about an inventor who learns that the diversions he loves so dearly are the very things that make him so inventive. Buoyed by the energetic, cartoonlike illustrations of Michael Chesworth, this fun, light-hearted tale offers a wonderful life lesson: Allow for your diversions, for often it is the things we seek out in our downtime that go the farthest to inspire us. "
- Jennifer Miller, Rocky Mountain News "McGregor lives in a higgledy-piggledy house 'with a cheery wife, five children, and a hen called Hattie.' He likes to sing, dance, paint and fix things for people. And every night he fiddles while his family and his hen 'whirled and whooshed and wheeched.' His inventions are clever and daffy, and he does his work with a happy heart. But the president of the Royal Society of Inventors pays a visit and wants him to work in the laboratory and take his inventing seriously. Off goes McGregor, only to find that the very joys in his life are what inspire him to invent, and he can't think of a thing to create while in the office. Back home he goes to a happy life full of joy and new inventions, like jellybean erasers and books that glow in the dark. The sprightly pastel drawings are as lighthearted as the text, which bursts with creative energy."
- Kirkus Reviews "In an uproarious picture book, Inventor McGregor is inspired by his happy family in their higgledy-piggledy house to concoct all kinds of wild thingamabobs and thingamajigs. When the establishment recognizes his genius and moves him to a city studio, his inspiration dries up—until he moves his workshop back to his country home. Preschoolers will love the nonsense of the contraptions, beautifully captured in the sound and the rhythm of the storytelling, with short, sharp sentences about how McGregor fixes squeaky skates, wobbly wagons, tangled kites, knotted yo-yos, headless dolls, and footless soldiers. The wild, double-page watercolor spreads celebrate the farcical gadgets the inventor uses as they show the gluing and oiling and hammering of his work and his joyful home."
- Hazel Rochman, Booklist Available at bookstores and at booksense.com, bn.com, and borders.com.
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