Written and Drawn by Henrietta: TOON Level 3

by Liniers

Overview

Reading books is fun . . . but what about making them?

Armed with new colored pencils she got from her mom and accompanied by her talking cat Fellini, Henrietta's ready to try her hand at making a book of her own. Peek over Henrietta's shoulder as she scribbles out the story of a brave young girl, a three-headed monster, and an impossibly wide world of adventure. Whether read aloud to a toddler or discovered by a young reader, Liniers' celebration of the creative process is sure to make everyone want to bring out their pencils.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781662665141
Publisher:	Astra Publishing House
Publication date:	03/07/2023
Pages:	60
Sales rank:	1,148,931
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	5 - 7 Years

About the Author

Ricardo Siri Liniers, known as Liniers, is the author of Macanudo, a daily comic strip hugely popular in Argentina, now available in English. His U.S. debut, The Big Wet Balloon, a TOON Book, was nominated for an Eisner Award and chosen as one of Parents Magazine's Top 10 Children's Books. He is from Buenos Aires, Argentina, but now lives in Vermont with his wife and three daughters, all credited as inspirations for Written and Drawn by Henrietta.

Editorial Reviews

BolognaRagazzi Comics Award 2020
Mildred L. Batchelder Award Honor 2016
Association for Library Service to Children's Graphic Novels Reading List 2016
2016 ALSC Notable Children's Books
​School Library Journal Best Books of 2015
The Horn Book Magazine's Fanfare List of 2015
Little Maverick Star - Texas Library Association’s Little Maverick Graphic Novel Reading List 2016
Kirkus Prize 2015 Nominee for Young Reader's Literature
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

FIVE STARRED REVIEWS FOR HENRIETTA!

★★★ “Henrietta and her creator are kindred spirits, displaying equal knacks for the surreal and the utterly charming...This effervescent package opens to reveal plenty of wisdom."—Kirkus Reviews STARRED REVIEW


★★★ "Liniers works magic here."—Horn Book Magazine STARRED REVIEW


★★★ “Sure to be a hit with emerging readers and young fans of graphic/cartoon stories during storytime or independent reading.”—School Library Journal STARRED REVIEW


★★★ "Liniers’ playful graphic novel is an ideally accessible alchemy of engaging, energetic storytelling and a fresh artistic perspective."—Booklist STARRED REVIEW


★★★ “Liniers’s creation brims with the power of invention, and Henrietta’s boldness (and her confidence in her own talent) inspires.”—Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW

"Speaks to the restorative power of art and its ability to communicate what cannot be communicated with written or spoken language."—Rob Clough for High-Low

“Written and Drawn by Henrietta, paired with some art supplies and paper, would make THE PERFECT GIFT for any young, aspiring author/illustrator.“—I Sniff Books

“Any teacher, librarian, or other educator who works with young writers should own a copy of this book, as should library collections with a high demand for easy readers in graphic format.”—Story Time Secrets

"It’s not often that cartoonists earn legitimate comparisons to comic strip maestros Charles Schultz and Bill Watterson, but that's what Argentinian artist Liniers has achieved.”—Publishers Weekly

“A celebration of a child’s creative process, told in cartoon form. Readers will enjoy both Henrietta’s book and her efforts to produce it in this colorful easy reader.”—A Kids Book A Day

"Readers dodge back and forth as they watch Henrietta's creative process and appreciate her touches of both fright and humor."—Puget Sound Council for Reviewing Children's and Young Adult Literature

From the Publisher

The Argentine comics artist and picture book author Ricardo Siri Liniers does not patronize children. His previous picture book, What There Is Before There Is Anything There, took children's fears of the dark seriously, to the point of being a bit existentially terrifying. His charming new book pays tribute—not just lip service—to a child as a writer and artist, in a way that is unusual when adults consider children's actual ideas…What's especially marvelous is watching [Henrietta] wrestle with the creative process, amazed by where it takes her.

The New York Times Book Review - Maria Russo

★ 06/22/2015
As this story-within-a-story begins, Henrietta has just received a new box of colored pencils. She starts right in, drawing and writing a story she calls “The Monster with Three Heads and Two Hats.” In the uproarious, childlike style Liniers (The Big Wet Balloon) uses for Henrietta’s work, the monster’s heads look like three enraged jack-o’-lanterns. “It’s nighttime... Emily’s in bed,” Henrietta imagines, drawing Emily staring with wide-open eyes. “I’m scaring myself...” Henrietta says. Throughout, Liniers documents the way that Henrietta is both the source of her creation and the object of its emotional force; when the monster meets an even larger monster, Henrietta reacts with a yell at what she’s drawn. There’s plenty of laughter, too, as when the monster complains about the size of Emily’s wardrobe: “We’ve been looking for a hat in there for months.” Henrietta explains to her cat, Fellini, “You see, the wardrobe was made in Narnia.” Liniers’s creation brims with the power of invention, and Henrietta’s boldness (and her confidence in her own talent) inspires. A Spanish-language edition is available simultaneously. Ages 5–up. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

★ 09/01/2015
Gr 2–4—Henrietta is a young girl who has just received a new box of colored pencils, which she describes as "owning a piece of the rainbow." And that is exactly how this book is illustrated, with bright, thickly applied colors in childlike drawings that reinforce the mood and action of the text. Liniers offers a book within a book; Henrietta is the author and illustrator of a story starring herself. In between panels, Henrietta consults her talking cat Fellini, who offers his sometimes philosophical advice and checks up on Henrietta's writing progress. Her story begins with a secret closet, much like the well known one from the Narnia series. To Emily's surprise, out pops a monster with three heads (but only two hats). The young author and My Favorite (her beloved stuffed animal) embark on a journey through the closet to help her monster friend find another hat, aided by an almost silent mouse who gives excellent directions and helps them escape from a big red monster. At one point, Henrietta is so invested in her artwork and the creation of her story that she scares herself (and perhaps a few sensitive readers as well.) The Spanish language version is just as delightful—perhaps even more humorous. VERDICT This title is sure to be a hit with emerging readers and young fans of graphic/cartoon stories during storytime or independent reading. —Martha Rico, El Paso ISD, TX

School Library Journal

★ 2015-05-06
Argentine cartoonist Liniers presents a graphic ode to the pleasures and challenges of composition, starring his recurring character Henrietta, a young bibliophile. The little girl's cat, Fellini, looks on as she writes and illustrates "The Monster with Three Heads and Two Hats." Page by page, she narrates her process, her own story appearing in a childlike, colored-pencil scrawl alongside Liniers' polished panels. "In a good story, there's always something that happens 'suddenly'!" she informs Fellini as a hand emerges from a wardrobe into her protagonist's nighttime bedroom. Henrietta and her creator are kindred spirits, displaying equal knacks for the surreal and the utterly charming. "The wardrobe was made in Narnia," she explains to Fellini as she propels protagonist and monster into it, where they discover an inscrutable mouse, a hat for the monster's bare head, and another monster. Liniers covers the importance of judiciously placed punctuation ("those three little dots really add... / ...SUSPENSE!") and research (a trip to the encyclopedia yields a bonanza of hat styles, all depicted) as well as the excitement of creation: "I'm drawing really fast 'cause I want to see what happens next." If the final joke comes at Henrietta's expense ("let's go look for a publisher," she declares at "THE END"), it does so gently and with collegiality. A Spanish-language edition, Escrito y Dibujado por Enriqueta, publishes simultaneously. This effervescent package opens to reveal plenty of wisdom. (Graphic early reader. 7-9)

Kirkus Reviews