Olivia
by Ian Falconer
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Book Reviews of Olivia
Book Review: Sets the high watermark for children's books! Encourages a respect for creativity and the arts!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't normally review children's books; however, this one is very special. The art is superb and the main character, Olivia, is as humorous, lovable, artistic and curious. She is quite precocious and even most adults will be charmed by her antics. I laughed out loud at several parts and enjoyed reading the book myself.
If you are trying to instill artistic or creative aspirations in your children, this is probably a good book to own. My understanding is that in subsequent books Olivia's personality is more controversial, but I haven't heard anyone complain about this one.
The later books I have seen in this series have been different than the original including a personality shift in Olivia toward being more mischievous and perhaps even "over the top" with respect to some behaviors that parents may not want to encourage in growing children. I suggest you read reviews of specific books before purchasing additional Olivia books if this is an area of concern.
Book Review: Destined to become a favorite of little girls everywhere
Summary: 4 Stars
Olivia is the most fun, free spirited and staunchly independent pig since Arnold (of Green Acres fame). She goes on a trip to the museum and learns about art (we can learn a little from her too). She has to put up with her seemingly annoying family as well as any little girl can yet it is obvious she loves her family and they love her. The story is adventurous, illustrations are witty and most importantly my daughter loves Olivia, she even loves just saying Olivia.
The draw backs are few but worth noting. The pages are big and easy to damage, especially for those younger then four who do not have the fine motor skills to turn bulky pages. Also when Olivia performs art on her walls it seemed to give my daughter some crazy ideas, so just be prepared. Lastly I'm not sure how well boys will identify with Olivia but for girls it's a clear home run.
All in all I highly recommend this book for daughters everywhere and look forward to the other books.
Book Review: Four bright stars and a full moon
Summary: 4 Stars
In Olivia, Ian Falconer captures the effervescent spirit of six-year-old Olivia, showing her quirks and charms with deft skill in an amazing display of charcoal sketching accented with vibrant splashes of red. The trio of white, red, and black form a powerful trio of color that capture the confidence and boisterous Olivia's high-energy personality.
Mr. Falconer slips in enough surprises- the Jackson Pollock painting and the rather astounding sand castle, for instance-to add more zip to this lively romp. This book is a welcome breath of fresh air to the field of children's literature, where all too often, well, let's just say the books are pretty poorly conceived.
The text and story are short and economical, providing just enough details to justify the elaborate, funny illustrations, which are the reason you may every now and then pull out this book for another look even when the children are asleep or out in the treehouse.
Book Review: Ian Falconer gives us a new classic
Summary: 5 Stars
Ian Falconer has been kind enough, with his superb "Olivia," to give the reading public a new classic children's heroine. Nothing much happens to Olivia--a little tiny girl pig who seems to live both right next to an idyllic sandy beach and in New York City--yet she is such an enjoyable character study that the lack of plot and eventfulness is of no consequence.Using an extremely spare palette of only black, white, and a sumptuous lipstick red, Falconer, renders Olivia with just a few swift lines and smudges, yet she is indelible and memorable. She is by turns snooty, curious, stubborn, exasperated, mischievous, cranky, and more. She is, in short, every little girl (indeed, every child) and grabs our hearts because she appears as a delicate little porker instead of a human. Somehow, that elevates Olivia out of the realm of the ordinary. Thank you, Ian Falconer!
Book Review: For all the hype, I found it a bit disappointing...
Summary: 3 Stars
During the Christmas 2000 season, this book literally flew off the shelves. Somewhere in that time, I actually took the time to read it, and even used it for a story hour at least once. The illustrations are eye-catching partly because they are sparse, but they are also really cute. The characterization of Olivia is really cute.. She's a typical 4 year old, getting into just about everything, boundless energy, and wearing her parents out.
It is on this last point that I found some exception with this book. I feel that the book ends on somewhat of a weird tone, that being with Olivia and her parents exchanging good-night "I love you anyway"s. I think it was meant to be cute, what with Olivia being a rambunctious pig and all, but it seemed to me to bring into the picture the fear that parents, especially, can choose not to love their kids sometimes.