This charming narrative of a determined girl’s artistic talent and will to succeed in the family business makes a compelling...
A girl in 17th-century Paris weaves a small tapestry as a gift for her father, and her work receives special recognition from Louis XIV.
Thérèse is part of an artistic family whose members all work in the king’s service. Her father and oldest brother are painters, and another brother is a weaver in the famous Gobelins Manufactory, which creates tapestries for the king’s palaces. Thérèse and her mother prepare yarn for the tapestries, but Thérèse wants to become a weaver herself, even though women were not permitted to work as weavers at that time. With the help of family and friends, Thérèse uses a painting by her father as the design for a tapestry that she weaves at home. The king is enchanted by her work, and he commissions a large version of her tapestry for his new palace at Versailles. Meticulous research by both author and illustrator makes the complex process of tapestry weaving accessible to all readers, but Thérèse’s story will be of particular interest to those interested in fiber arts. Detailed illustrations in jewel tones help create a believable personality for Thérèse and a convincing setting in the workshop in Paris. The final pages include a helpful author’s note on historical background, a glossary, a list of French terms with pronunciation, and a map of the Gobelins facility.
This charming narrative of a determined girl’s artistic talent and will to succeed in the family business makes a compelling story on an unusual topic. (Picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: March 8, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-60606-473-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Getty Publications
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2016
Innocuous adventuring on the smallest of scales.
The Mouse and the Motorcycle (1965) upgrades to The Mice and the Rolls-Royce.
In Windsor Castle there sits a “dollhouse like no other,” replete with working plumbing, electricity, and even a full library of real, tiny books. Called Queen Mary’s Dollhouse, it also plays host to the Whiskers family, a clan of mice that has maintained the house for generations. Henry Whiskers and his cousin Jeremy get up to the usual high jinks young mice get up to, but when Henry’s little sister Isabel goes missing at the same time that the humans decide to clean the house up, the usually bookish big brother goes on the adventure of his life. Now Henry is driving cars, avoiding cats, escaping rats, and all before the upcoming mouse Masquerade. Like an extended version of Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Two Bad Mice (1904), Priebe keeps this short chapter book constantly moving, with Duncan’s peppy art a cute capper. Oddly, the dollhouse itself plays only the smallest of roles in this story, and no factual information on the real Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House is included at the tale’s end (an opportunity lost).
Innocuous adventuring on the smallest of scales. (Fantasy. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-6575-5
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
An evocative and empowering tribute to human dignity and optimism.
This story, inspired by the author’s grandparents, celebrates love blooming in the desert during a time of extreme duress.
In a World War II incarceration camp for Japanese Americans, two young people find respite in one another. In Minidoka, families are crowded together, enduring harsh weather, barbed wire fences, the intimidating scrutiny of White armed guards, and the stress of unjust imprisonment. Book lover Tama finds solace volunteering in the camp library, where she is visited daily by George, a handsome young man with a seemingly insatiable appetite for reading. Tama, who revels in the power of words, struggles to name her overwhelming feelings. George’s reassurance that she is only human opens the door to love, marriage, and the birth of their first child in camp, a bubble of happiness in the midst of struggle. The gentle text shows how, no matter how bleak the outlook, people can find ways to hope, dream, and endure. An author’s note fills in some background on the real Tama and George Tokuda and connects their story to the many other American communities who experience racism but nevertheless claim joy. Imamura’s soft, exquisite illustrations capture the physical locale, using light and shadow in powerful ways. The 1940s setting comes to life with loving care in details of the decor and characters’ clothes.
An evocative and empowering tribute to human dignity and optimism. (Picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: Jan. 11, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0430-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
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