I read this book with my almost five-year old son. I think the constant descriptions of hard work were initially interesting but eventually tiresome for him. I had to edit as I read, since I didn't want him to absorb the various racism, blondes-are-better, name calling and child abuse that wove throughout the book. I thought the drawings were well done, but there weren't enough of them and they often failed to capture the most interesting and salient parts of the narrative.