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LA LA ROSE by Satomi Ichikawa

LA LA ROSE

by Satomi Ichikawa & illustrated by Satomi Ichikawa

Pub Date: Feb. 1st, 2004
ISBN: 0-399-24029-2
Publisher: Philomel

La La Rose, a stuffed rabbit, becomes separated from her “inseparable friend,” young Clementine, during an outing to the famed Luxembourg Gardens of Paris. This is La La’s story of their time apart, during which she only narrowly avoids disaster. Cowed by crows, used as a toss-toy, and tumbled down the manicured lawns of the bustling Jardins, La La’s misadventures allow the reader to glimpse the park’s Palais, its sailboat pond, and other extraordinary treasures through dappled trees and profusions of flowers rendered in Ichikawa’s charming and fluid signature watercolors. Inspired use of light and shadow lets the artist communicate nuances of time, temperature, and tone, leading the reader to experience both the sun-kissed exuberance of children at play and the chill-tinged pathos of a little lovey lost. This lush retelling of the familiar lost-and-found tale might have been improved un petit peu by a guide identifying the unique objets d’art and architecture to which its readers are treated, but it is a lovely peek at Paris, to be sure. (Picture book. 4-6)