Josefina Javelina: A Hairy Tale by Susan Lowell (2005) was a disappointment for me. I’d only read one other book by Susan Lowell, The Tortoise and the Jackrabbit (1994), which I loved. The text and story were well crafted. The art was beautiful. A Hairy Tale was without the same charm. Josefina dreams of becoming a ballerina. One day she moves to Pasadena to visit her cousin Angelina. She auditions at the Big Break Talent Agency only to find a wolf in sheep’s clothing. As she and her cousin run from the wolf, Josefina accidentally enters the spotlight. She becomes a star, a star who misses her roots. It’s an ok plot made even more mediocre by Bruce MacPherson’s caricatures. Over the top cartoonish illustrations make this silly story even more ridiculous.
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Frederick by Leo Lionni values the imagination. While Frederick's family gathers food supplies for the winter, Frederick sit... -
Molly and the Sword by Robert Shlasko, (1996) is unoriginal and tedious. Molly is a good daughter who demonstrates qualities one mi...