Olivia . . . and the Missing Toy FROM OUR EDITORS
Ian Falconer's popular piglet makes a hilarious comeback in her third picture book -- a mystery to end all mysteries! After cajoling her mom into sewing a distinctive red shirt for the soccer team (Never mind that everyone elseﾽs jersey is green!), the little trendsetter heads outside to play. But when she returns, she realizes that her "best toy" is missing. In highest dudgeon, Olivia launches a massive manhunt (make that pighunt) -- checking under the rug, under the sofa, even under the cat, and giving little brothers Ian and William the third degree. But the mystery remains unsolved until that dark and stormy night when an awful sound interrupts her piano practice. Holding a candelabra that casts spooky shadows on the wall, the plucky little piglet investigates -- and discovers the real culprit behind a closed door.
With Falconerﾽs trademark black, white, and red line illustrations and a storyline that underlines Oliviaﾽs appealing can-do attitude, this new installment in the winning series is swine-tastically superb. Eat your heart out, Sherlock.
ANNOTATION
When her best toy mysteriously disappears, Olivia the feisty pig is determined to find out who is responsible.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
The porcine recipient of a 2001 Calecott Honor Award makes her third appearance in a deliciously funny story that's sure to strike a chord in preschoolers everywhere. Olivia has one special toy that she adores -- a stuffed animal that she has tea with, and wheels around in a stroller, and takes everywhere. But one day it strangely... inexplicably...tragically!...vanishes. Olivia is completely distraught. Who is the culprit? Is it little brother William? Or baby Ian? Or maybe even Edwin the cat? All plead innocence. Then comes a dark and stormy night; Olivia hears a mysterious voice and, candelabra in hand, heads down the shadowy hall to investigate. Nervously, she enters a room, and there, before her, tail wagging, stands the villain!
Filled with all the suspense of a Daphne du Maurier novel, and all the humor of, well, Olivia herself, Ian Falconer's new picture book is sure to become as beloved as its predecessors.
FROM THE CRITICS
The New York Times
An artist who has done more than a dozen New Yorker covers as well as designing sets for the stage, Falconer has a witty and sophisticated eye; there are images in each of his books that can make you laugh with instant recognition.
— Dwight Garner
The Washington Post
In this, her third public appearance, she shows no sign of fatigue, despite spending the whole book in red-and-white-striped pajamas. The plot is slight—Olivia's BEST TOY was lost and is found—but New Yorker cartoonist Ian Falconer's spare charcoal drawings, splashed with Olivia's favorite fire-engine red, are as dryly amusing as ever.—Elizabeth Ward
Publishers Weekly
The porcine star who burst onto the children's books stage in black and white-plus her favorite color, red-is back! Here Falconer adds green to his palette and mystery to the plot for this third adventure featuring the incomparable Olivia. However, "green is not Olivia's color." So she entreats her mother to make a red soccer jersey to replace her team's green one. "But then you'll look different from everyone else on the team," says her mother. "That's the point," retorts the heroine in an oversize font. While her mother sews, Olivia's beloved green-and-red toy (who makes a comical cameo appearance in a wordless vignette on the endpapers) disappears with the turn of a page. (A clue appears in the lower right-hand corner of the illustration, where the toy is last seen.) It won't give away the fun to say that Perry-the spotted, panting pooch introduced in Olivia and who bears a certain resemblance to the sidekicks in the "Madame Olivia and her Trained Dogs" act in Olivia Saves the Circus-plays a bigger role in this episode. Once again Falconer nails common three-year-old parlance and posture. As Olivia shouts, "Where's my toy? It was right there on the bed. I just put it there. I remember exactly. That's my best toy. I need it!" the audience assumes the viewpoint of her mother, staring down into the protagonist's gaping mouth. Though it hardly seems possible, Falconer's visual and verbal narrative talents continue to grow. And so will Olivia's devotees. Ages 3-7. (Oct.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Children's Literature - Jennifer Ralston
Olivia is back, and one nightﾽ"and it was a dark and stormy night"ﾽshe discovers the awful truth about her missing toy. I don't want to spoil the surprise, but it is delightful. The expression on Olivia's face as she carries the candelabra in the dark, is priceless. Falconer's monochromatic palette, with the required touches of red (and green), and the expressive line drawings complement a fully-developed plot, that is full of pathos (Olivia is dramatic!), humor, and suspense. The endpapers are wonderful. I waited expectantly for this book (being an Olivia fan) and the wait was worth it. 2003, Atheneum, Ages 3 to 6.
School Library Journal
K-Gr 3-Olivia is back, the indomitable individualist now coaxing her mother to make her a new soccer uniform in red, not the "really unattractive green" of the rest of the team. During the sewing session, Olivia's stuffed animal disappears and the fearless piglet must solve the mystery. She eventually tracks it down, but it is now in pieces, courtesy of the dog. Olivia's tears are surprisingly easily diverted by her father's glib promise from behind the newspaper to replace it with "the very best toy in the whole world," but the independent protagonist resews it herself and even improves on the original. Once again, the illustrations are stylish and witty, now extended by the addition of green to Falconer's trademark charcoal-and-gouache black, white, and red palette. The inclusion of photographic reproductions (the sphinx in a dream and Martha Graham on the bedroom wall) adds a nice contrast, and the endpapers show a comic strip of the little pig trying to get her toy to sit up. The changes in the size of the typeface to indicate volume of speech as Olivia interrogates her little brothers, and as her distress escalates, are hilarious. But the plot meanders a little, and it seems as though Falconer is letting style overtake story. Olivia is in danger of starting to appear more like a bratty bully than the charming nonconformist we know and love. Still, her many fans will enjoy this latest adventure of the piglet turned detective.-Jane Barrer, Washington Square Village Creative Steps, NY Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
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