Reviews written by Francesca Amendolia

-- How do you carve an elephant? -- Get a block of marble and take away everything that doesn’t look like an elephant. I’ve always loved that joke, and not because it’s funny, because it isn’t. I love it because it’s beautifully, simply and totally true...

In SUMMER OF THE WOLVES, two girls (Diana and Stephanie), who have just recently become step-sisters, set off for a family vacation at a ranch. They barely know each other, and are very different. One is outdoorsy, the other less so. One is interested in boys, the other, not so...

There’s something especially intriguing about picture books that focus on an artist. Picture books ought to be intensely visual, rewarding in both word and image – and when the illustrator is given the expanded license to explore not just the experiential world, but the creative world of another artist, well,...

Soybeans, or edamame, are not a particularly exotic foodstuff in the United States these days, but as recently as the 1950s, they were grown only as feed for livestock. Yet for thousands of Chinese immigrants, they were a rare and welcome taste of home. AUNTIE YANG’S GREAT SOYBEAN PICNIC by...

There is no crying in baseball. What there is in baseball, however, is narrative. There is heroism, teamwork, character, courage, perseverance, skill and endurance. And so it is with PLAY BALL, the new graphic novel written by Nunzio Defilippis and Christina Weir and drawn by Jackie Lewis....

HADES: LORD OF THE DEAD, the fourth in an ongoing series of graphic novels about the Olympians, is just as appealing as all the others have been. While the writer/artist includes plenty of information about both Hades, the god and Hades, his domain—the Underworld, information never gets in the way...

This bright little picture book will appeal to the youngest readers, especially those who have guinea pigs, or a fondness for small animals...and frankly, what child isn't fond of small animals? The charming illustrations incorporate photos of the intrepid Valentino in a variety of amusing situations, including weight-lifting and (my...

We had a couple of Brian Wildsmith picture books when I was very small. They have since disintegrated, but his art lingers in my pre-verbal memory like something mysterious and magical. Whenever I see his illustrations now, like fireworks they light up those moments locked in my hindbrain when I...

Okay, first I'd better 'fess up. I love *Ferris Bueller's Day Off.* I loved it in 1986 when I was (mumble-mumble) years old, and I love it now. In fact, I’m a fan of pretty much everything by John Hughes. Which means I was even more of a sucker for...

When Courtney Crumrin and her social-climbing parents come to live with mysterious Great-Uncle Aloysius in his dusty, dark gothic mansion, she realizes almost immediately things are not what they seem. In the shadowy corners of her new home lurk… things. Creatures. Danger. First published in 2002, this...

GIANTS BEWARE! Because there’s a hero in the house and her name is Claudette. Small, fierce, red-haired Claudette lives in a walled town, and chafes at the restriction. Just listening to stories of evil giants and those who fought them is not enough for her. She wants to go out...

I adore children’s books from the first half of the 20th century, including the admittedly saccharine Milly Molly Mandy books, as well as the Famous Five and everything else by Enid Blyton. I love Anne of Green Gables, Pollyanna and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. I do not insist upon gritty...

This truly lovely picture book was like seeing a star emerge from behind the clouds. I not only enjoyed BABY FLO in and of itself, but I enjoyed learning about Florence Mills, a remarkable girl and one I think young children would easily admire and identify with. ...

There are books that make me smile, and books that make me sigh, books that put me to sleep and books that keep me up all night. There are books that disappoint me, and books that surprise me, books I carry on reading even while I cook supper, and books...

When the book opens, the kingdom of Ardendale is celebrating a wedding! Ivy's fairy godmother, after many hundreds of years of fairy-ing (and many jilted lovers), is finally getting married. Ivy, her bridesmaid, is stuck wearing a most ridiculous (but delightfully described) dress and Eldridge, her dragon friend, is contentedly...