FICTION

Prickly Jenny

by Sibylle DELACROIX
tr. from French by Karen Li. illus. by Sibylle Delacroix. 32p. Owlkids. 2015. Tr $16.95. ISBN 9781771471299.
COPY ISBN
PreS—Jenny faces a familiar problem for toddlers (and older people): she doesn't know what she wants and is feeling out of sorts. Jenny doesn't want to wear her new dress, she doesn't want to go to the fair, and she doesn't want ice cream—although she still devours it. An unbleached backdrop reflects Jenny's foul mood and makes her pale figure the irresistible focal point. Delacroix's uncluttered charcoal sketches with their limited palette have a sweet, comforting quality, even as they effectively express the child's scowling ill temper and failed attempts to exert control over her domain. The economical text is accessible for its toddler audience while retaining humorous nuances. As the author concludes, "Jenny doesn't know what she wants today. But tomorrow, when she's bigger, it will get better."
VERDICT Both children and adults will find this picture book relatable and reassuring.
Reviewed by Rachel Anne Mencke, St. Matthew's Parish School, Pacific Palisades, CA
"Jenny doesn't say good morning..."; "Jenny doesn't want her new polka-dotted dress." Jenny is, frankly, a brat. But she's also a perfectly believable toddler, especially when she lets on that her prickliness is something of an act ("Wait...Is that a smile, Jenny?"). Her telling facial expressions dominate the square, modestly sized book.
, May 01, 2015

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