First sentence: Ever since the postcard arrived from Paris, Rosalie and Conrad had been waiting for the arrival of their uncle--Mr. Satie, world traveler--and his companion, Ffortusque Ffollet, Esq. Every day they asked Mama and Papa when they would arrive.
Premise/plot: Rosalie and Conrad are happy to welcome Mr. Satie--and guest--into their home. Mr. Satie arrives and has a wonderful story to tell about recent goings-on in Paris. Mr. Satie was at a gathering of friends--of artists--and he was able to help make peace between two factions. One group LOVED Henri's new style of painting and thought it was the BEST. The other group loved Pablo's new style of painting and thought it was the BEST. It wasn't only that one "needed" to be better than the other. No, each group HATED the other style and thought it the WORST--that it wasn't even worthy of being called art. Can Mr. Satie help maintain the peace--not just for one night--but for good?!
My thoughts: I found the book to be odd. Not necessarily odd in a bad way. Mr. Satie and his family are cats. His friend, his guest, is a mouse. That's not the weird part. I almost expected the whole cast of the picture book to be one or the other or even both. Animals in place of people. But, no, Pablo, Henri, and all the artistic crowds in Paris are people. So it isn't strictly animal fantasy OR historical/realistic. The story itself was okay. I found it interesting. If you're looking for an 'art-appreciation' book to share with little ones, this one is worth considering.
Text: 3 out of 5
Illustrations: 3 out of 5
Total: 6 out of 10
© 2018 Becky Laney of Young Readers
No comments:
Post a Comment