FRANZI AND GIZI

The combination of Margery Bianco as story teller with the work of this newly discovered Czech artist makes an effective book. Brilliant peasant art illustrates the story of two middle Europe peasant children and a wholesomely eventful day in the forest. Personally, I should have liked it to be more specifically one country or another, with characteristics reflecting peasant life, a life that has no reality today but that needs to be restored and preserved. As it stands, the text, while it has more meat than the average picture book text, and the children seem more real, might be anywhere anytime. The pictures are beautifully reproduced and are characteristic of middle Europe peasant art.