FICTION

Animal Beauty

by Kristin ROSKIFTE
tr. from Swedish by Jeanne Eirheim. illus by Kristin Roskifte. 50p. Eerdmans. 2015. Tr $17. ISBN 9780802854544.
COPY ISBN
K-Gr 2—One day, the animals at the zoo find a fashion magazine and decide after reading it to improve and change to fit in with high fashion standards. The elephant opts to get rid of her wrinkles, the Panda his dark under-eye circles, and the monkey his unsightly facial hair. In the end, the animals learn from the zoo patrons that they were perfect just the way they were and didn't need to change to fit into society's mold. Flat, rounded shapes in bold colors give the cartoon artwork a clean and modern feel.
VERDICT While the message is a good one, the delivery is heavy-handed and will leave kids wanting more whimsy.
Reviewed by Krishna Grady, Darien Library, CT
In this Norwegian import, zoo animals change their appearances based on advice in a fashion magazine. They become unrecognizable, upsetting the zoo's visitors, who impress upon the animals the value of being themselves. The overstated moral may be lost on the target audience, but the illustrations are disconcerting and funny, and the final spread offers a provocative (if expected) comparison to human behavior.
 , Dec 01, 2015

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