MADAME LAGRANDE AND HER SO HIGH, TO THE SKY, UPROARIOUS POMPADOUR

Name: MADAME LAGRANDE AND HER SO HIGH, TO THE SKY, UPROARIOUS POMPADOUR
Author: Candace Fleming
ISBN: 0-679-85835-0

by Candace Fleming & illustrated by S.D. Schindler ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 30, 1996

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Madame LaGrande is fashion's latest slave in pre-Revolutionary Paris. When she hears about the new pompadour style, she rushes out to get herself the biggest and best to flaunt at the opera that night. Her ceiling-scraping monstrosity soon attracts pigeons, cats, poodles, and even the King himself in a suitably histrionic finale at the Grand Opera. While the colors are sometimes dull, the comic, almost Seussian style of illustration is perfectly suited to the atmosphere. So is Fleming's tendency toward over-alliteration, as in ``Three calico cats crouching on a window ledge saw the two plump pigeons pecking in Madame's pompadour.'' The story's length, theme, and complexity may not recommend it to younger readers, but it will reward those school-age children just beginning to struggle to keep up with the latest fads. (Picture book. 3-8)

Pub Date: June 30, 1996

ISBN: 0-679-85835-0

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1996

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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by Candace Fleming

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NARWHAL
by Candace Fleming ; illustrated by Deena So'Oteh

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by Candace Fleming

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NOAH CHASES THE WIND

by Michelle Worthington ; illustrated by Joseph Cowman ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 14, 2015

An invitation to wonder, imagine and look at everything (humans included) in a new way.

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A young boy sees things a little differently than others.

Noah can see patterns in the dust when it sparkles in the sunlight. And if he puts his nose to the ground, he can smell the “green tang of the ants in the grass.” His most favorite thing of all, however, is to read. Noah has endless curiosity about how and why things work. Books open the door to those answers. But there is one question the books do not explain. When the wind comes whistling by, where does it go? Noah decides to find out. In a chase that has a slight element of danger—wind, after all, is unpredictable—Noah runs down streets, across bridges, near a highway, until the wind lifts him off his feet. Cowman’s gusty wisps show each stream of air turning a different jewel tone, swirling all around. The ribbons gently bring Noah home, setting him down under the same thinking tree where he began. Did it really happen? Worthington’s sensitive exploration leaves readers with their own set of questions and perhaps gratitude for all types of perspective. An author’s note mentions children on the autism spectrum but widens to include all who feel a little different.

An invitation to wonder, imagine and look at everything (humans included) in a new way. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: April 14, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-60554-356-7

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Redleaf Lane

Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2015

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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PILLOWLAND

by Laurie Berkner ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 7, 2017

For Berkner’s fans; there are much better books about children visiting imaginative lands.

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Berkner’s children’s song gets the picture-book treatment with illustrations from Garoche.

What kid hasn’t made a massive pillow fort and imagined all sorts of adventures? Well, Berkner’s premise is that there is a land where everything is made of pillows, and three lucky children get to visit there. (They appear to be siblings, perhaps a blended family: Mom and one girl are black; Dad, one boy, and one girl are white.) The illustrations transition between depictions of obvious imaginative play in a bedroom to a fantasy world and back again at the end, when the parents peek in at the three asleep. Garoche’s art consists of photos of papercut artwork arranged in dioramas with some Photoshop details. Reminiscent of Michael Garland’s work (though more pastel in color) or that of Elly McKay (though less ethereal), the illustrations are a mixed bag, with layers and hard edges juxtaposed against all the pillows. The king and queen of the song are obviously stand-ins for the parents. Children who know the tune may not sit still for a reading, while those who don’t may wonder at the repeated refrain.

For Berkner’s fans; there are much better books about children visiting imaginative lands. (Picture book. 3-7)