With exuberance, elan and lots of heart, O'Connor (the Nina, Nina Ballerina books) and Glasser (A Is for Abigail) prove that the bosom of the family has ample room for even the most outr individualist. Channeling the spirits of Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn-whose pictures adorn her extravagantly decorated room-Nancy tries to make the world a more flamboyant place, starting with her decidedly down-to-earth family ("They never even ask for sprinkles," she notes as they exit an ice cream parlor). She offers her parents and little sister a free tutorial in all things fancy (yellow is plain, gold is fancy), which they gamely attend, and they even agree to go to a restaurant wearing Nancy-orchestrated frou-frou (Mom's ensemble includes Christmas ornament earrings and a feather boa). But when Nancy commits a faux pas of major proportions (she trips with a tray full of ice cream) she comes to realize that her family's love for her is as bottomless as her collection of hair accessories. O'Connor captures Nancy's dramatic precociousness without making her sound like a snoot ("My favorite color is fuchsia. That's a fancy way of saying purple"); she comes across as a genuinely creative spirit rather than an imperious fashionista. Glasser's pictures brim with comic detail and sparkle like a bauble from Tiffany. Like O'Connor, she empathizes with Nancy's over-the-top sensibility, yet gently grounds the heroine in the steady (if bemused) embrace of her family. Ages 4-7. (Jan.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Only four percent of the global population rocks naturally red hair, but their representation in literature is way higher. After all, endowing a character with a mop of ginger locks is basically a shorthand way of saying, “Hey reader—this person stands out!” Whether that’s good or bad depends on the story, but one thing’s for […]
I’ve recently noticed a lot of my friends posting Facebook and Instagram photos of their kids dressed up as their favorite fictional characters for school “Character Day.” I LOVE this idea, and have been so inspired by their creative interpretations! To continue with this trend, here are some great characters from beloved books that also […]
Homemade Halloween costumes are my favorite, but those Pinterest creations that require $40 worth of material, a week’s worth of work, and are destined to end up on the bathroom floor because your kid wants to wear the $5 Batman cape they got in their Christmas stocking last year are maddening. My daughter is a […]