In the end, we are not amused.
No doubt meant to be droll, this arch fictionalized biography of the girl who became Queen Victoria misses the mark.
Most of the facts are here: her six unsatisfactory uncles, her beloved dog Dash, her ascension to the throne at age 18. There is a glimpse of Albert, her royal first cousin, whom she loved and who would become her spouse. But the text focuses on the years before: People call her Vicky; much is made of her lack of chin and lack of height; her mother keeps her under tight control. All of her mother's dialogue is written in a Hogan's Heroes–esque, German-accented English, which just doesn't seem very funny in the 21st century. The Duchess, her mother, on her late husband: “How fine he vos! And vot a great kink he vould haf mate, eef his horrid brudders hadn't been born before him. How dey all hated each udder!” The villainous Sir John Conroy, who worked with Victoria's mother to make her utterly dependent (and whom she instantly dismissed from court upon her coronation), plays his part, as does Lehzen, Victoria's cherished governess. The brightly colored illustrations are exaggerated and cartoony, a good match for the text.
In the end, we are not amused. (chronology, list of kings and queens) (Historical fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: July 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-84780-083-1
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2011
Possibly the uncredited translation is what’s at issue here…but children struggling with the presence or fear of death are...
In this Norwegian import, Death, a shrouded, doll-like figure with flowers at its temple, explains its place in the scheme of things.
Sonorously poetic as it is, its monologue is likely to leave readers more confused than comforted. First seen in Schneider’s somber illustrations as a dark-haired white figure riding a bicycle through a grove of turquoise trees, Death introduces itself: “I am Death. / Just as life is life, / I am death.” Uh, right. Many of its ensuing pronouncements are equally cryptic or illogical; it “may appear / in the haze that hovers / above the ocean, / or in a narrow strip / of moonlight” and comes “most often / to those with wrinkles.” “Sometimes I have to visit / many people in the same place,” it continues, carrying an armload of victims away from a burning town. “I also meet some / inside tummies.” “If I were to die,” it goes on, “who’d make way / for new dreams / and new words?”—an argument that might have found better visual expression than placing it amid retro puppets and toys. Toward the end, Death is joined by Life (shrouded in golden hair but otherwise a green-eyed, light-skinned twin), because the two “can be found in everything / that starts or stops.” Everything, apparently, except for Love, which “never dies, / even when it meets me.”
Possibly the uncredited translation is what’s at issue here…but children struggling with the presence or fear of death are unlikely to find relief in this elliptical treatment. (Picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: April 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-3-89955-771-8
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little Gestalten
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
An interesting, mysterious story with memorable illustrations.
This slightly spooky tale, based on a true story, recalls a mysterious visitor to the Squires family, who were living in a lighthouse in Newfoundland in the 1970s.
Sisters Esther and Meranda move into the old lighthouse with their mother and artist father in the fall; the family is white. The lighthouse, with no running water and minimal heating, is located 2 miles from the village of Ferryland. One night just before Halloween, an older white man unexpectedly knocks on the door of the lighthouse, saying that the family dog asked him to come in. The old-timer tells the family all about his past life in Ferryland and his years as the village policeman. The next day, Esther and her father learn that this policeman has been dead for 20 years. By the next summer, the family is settled in and the mother has opened a pottery shop. There they meet the visiting daughter of the policeman, who tells them that her father always told people, “Your dog asked me to come in.” The narrative, lengthy for the format, is told in the authoritative, compelling style of a campfire ghost story, with plenty of geographical references and atmospheric details. The story is illustrated with vintage photographs of family members and the area along with beautiful oil paintings by Squires, the artist father of the family.
An interesting, mysterious story with memorable illustrations. (author’s note, publisher’s note) (Picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: June 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-927917-05-3
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Running the Goat
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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