« Recurring Nightmares | Main | Signs »
July 02, 2007
No Biting, Louise
“Louise promised Mother: Absolutely no more biting. Nope. Never. Ever. Louise fibbed.”
-from No Biting, Louise by Margie Palatini, illustrated by Matthew Reinhart (forthcoming in September)
Margie Palatini specializes in the kind of picture books that are a particular delight to read to a class of first or second graders. Her texts are longer, use a wonderful range of vocabulary, and tend to be more subtle than your average picture book. In books like Bad Boys and Oink?, she relies on the nuances of narrative perspective and playing around with the audience’s expectations. While preschoolers might be happy enough to listen to a Palatini, they are surely going to miss a lot of what makes her books so much fun. Come this September, though, preschoolers are going to have a Palatini of their own.
Louise, a young alligator with red overalls and blond pigtails, has a wee bit of a problem. Much to her mother’s frustration, she’s a biter. The story is told with a handful of words on each page, plenty of white space, and bright, bold-lined illustrations from Reinhart – perfect for the preschool set, many of whom also know a thing or two about biting. Palatini chooses her words well (my favorite: “gnaw”), and the design makes effective use of the page in both text placement and the occasional judicious use of a second, larger, font in different colors. Reienhart’s illustrations are great fun, particularly in his renderings of Louise’s many victims. My favorite spread features four illustrations in sequence. In the first three, we see Louise’s eyes and pigtails sticking out of the water while various animals – a monkey, and elephant, and a flamingo – are running out of the water, shouting and damaged. The fourth illustration features our heroine’s mother giving her a stern talking-to. There isn’t a preschooler out there who doesn’t know the wonderful, secret feeling of giving in to the forbidden, and I can’t think of another book that treats the specific sin of biting (although there must be a few, right?). I’d go ahead and buy a few copies of this one.
Posted by adrienne at July 2, 2007 08:13 AM
Comments
thank for the book tip, adrienne! i can't help but be reminded of a harrowing biting experience that occurred in the picture book room at my library not too long ago. this little boy, arms extended, made a beeline for a little girl. both moms watched, and one uttered, "how cute, he's going to give her a hug!" well, next thing you know, this alligator of a child BIT the little girl's nose, almost clean off! there was blood EVERYWHERE! It was a mess, and it was awful. ahhh, gotta love the library...
Posted by: Stephanie at July 2, 2007 07:26 PM
OH NO THAT'S HORRIBLE!!! I'm reading World War Z right now, and your story has me worried about the state of California....
Posted by: adrienne at July 2, 2007 09:43 PM
I happen to know someone with a coworker whose child has been kicked out of 3 or 4 preschools already because of biting. Serious. I'm totally recommending this book. Thanks for the review!
Posted by: eisha at July 2, 2007 09:50 PM
Oh, my. That really is serious. Louise isn't particularly remorseful, but the book does make much of the effect her activities have on others -- and she does eventually give it up.
Posted by: adrienne at July 2, 2007 10:24 PM