Product Details
A Beautiful Girl

A Beautiful Girl
By Amy Schwartz

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Product Description

On her way to market Jenna makes four new friends. Along with Baby Elephant, there's Robin, who thinks Jenna has a very silly beak; Fly, who wonders where her hundred eyes are; and Goldfish, who thinks she has very goofy gills. Kirkus has written that "the power and grace in Schwartz's spare style and language lies in the fact that she never condescends to young readers--she just compares notes." Here she once again completely and convincingly captures the world of a child in a beautiful and winning picture book about . . . a beautiful girl.

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #1162096 in Books
  • Published on: 2006-08-08
  • Released on: 2006-08-08
  • Original language: English
  • Dimensions: .40" h x 12.16" w x 9.24" l, 1.10 pounds
  • Binding: Hardcover
  • 32 pages

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-K–Precocious young Jenna meets an assortment of characters on her way to the market, and they all find her unusual features baffling. Baby Elephant thinks that her trunk looks funny. Robin declares her beak silly. Her scarcity of eyes confuses Fly, who has 100. And Goldfish calls her gills goofy. Jenna patiently explains to each animal in turn that she is a girl and therefore has a nose, a mouth, two eyes, and ears instead. With all misunderstandings finally cleared up, they all go to the market together to purchase a few special treats and then play until Jenna's mother comes. The short and snappy story line and dialogue will hold the attention of young audiences, as will the naive cartoon illustrations in bright, candy-colored watercolors on white backgrounds. This is a good choice for sharing with groups of young children who are discovering the wonders of their own five senses.–Julie Roach, Cambridge Public Library, MA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
PreS. Jenna is on her way to market when she meets a baby elephant, whose curiosity is piqued by Jenna's "trunk." Does she pick up peanuts with it? Spray water? Grab her mother's tail? Jenna enlightens the elephant on the purpose of her nose: smelling flowers and cookies baking. Then an encounter with a robin provokes answers about Jenna's "beak." The author of What James Likes Best (2003), A Glorious Day (2004), and so many books that get to the heart of a child's concerns here adds a whimsical touch to the literal place where kids often live. The juxtaposition of a silly question and a serious answer is highlighted by Schwartz's light, bright ink-and-watercolor illustrations, in which Jenna talks as easily to a fly as she does to her mom and dad. Though the story meanders a bit, both readers and listeners will like the structural repetitiveness that gives Jenna's adventurous trip such a satisfying form. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Amy Schwartz has written and illustrated many classic books capturing the moods and motivations of young children, including Bea and Mr. Jones, a Reading Rainbow featured title, What James Likes Best, winner of the Charlotte Zolotow Award, and A Teeny Tiny Baby. She lives in Brooklyn, New York. A Beautiful Girl is her first book for Roaring Brook Press.