But I Want To!

When a little boy's mother tells him ""no!,"" the sassy and determined youngster balks. ""But I want to!"" he declares. ""And if I want to, I will!"" What follows is every child's dream of mischief and mayhem. The hero sends his mother off to the moon in a rocket, gorges himself on sweets, and jumps on his bed until it breaks. But even this most energetic mischief-maker grows tired eventually, and when he does, he wants his mother back to read him a bedtime story and kiss him good night.

John A. Rowe's comical, cartoonlike illustrations capture the gleeful abandon of a rebellious and imaginative youngster's wild dream of freedom.