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Summary
Summary
A funny and stylish picture book based loosely on the relationship between the literary figure Virginia Woolf and her sister, the painter Vannessa Ball. Vanessa's sister, Virginia, is in a wolfish mood - growling, howling and acting very strange. It's a funk so fierce, the whole household feels topsy-turvy. Vanessa tries everything she can think of to cheer her up, but nothing seems to work. Then Virginia tells Vanessa about an imaginary, perfect place called Bloomsberry. Armed with an idea, Vanessa begins to paint Bloomsberry on the bedroom walls...
Author Notes
Kyo Maclear is an award-winning writer and novelist. Her ever-growing list of acclaimed picture books for children includes Virginia Wolf, The Specific Ocean, The Liszts, Bloom, Story Boat and It Began with a Page. She lives and works in Toronto, Ontario.
Isabelle Arsenault is a three-time winner of the Governor General's Award for Illustration and has been shortlisted for the Hans Christian Andersen Award; her work has garnered her several more honors besides. She is the illustrator of Virginia Wolf; Jane, the Fox and Me; Cloth Lullaby; and Just Because, among many other books. Isabelle is also the author-illustrator of the A Mile End Kids Story series. She lives in Montreal, Quebec.
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
It's not often that a writer-illustrator team conceives a second work so much more ambitious and complex than the first (in this case, 2010's Spork), and rarer still to execute it so well. In an invented episode from Virginia Woolf's depression-beset youth, young Vanessa Bell narrates the story of one of her sister's bad spells, punning on Woolf's adult surname: "She made wolf sounds and did strange things." Virginia's rages disrupt the entire household ("Up became down. Bright became dim") until Virginia expresses a wish to fly to "a perfect place.... with frosted cakes and beautiful flowers." "Where is that?" Vanessa asks. "Bloomsberry, of course," Virginia answers. As Virginia sleeps, Vanessa paints "Bloomsberry" for her sister on endless sheets of drawing paper, remaking the world for her. Arsenault conveys the transformation by moving suddenly from b&w silhouettes to a swirling, multicolored fantasy of swings, cupcakes, and gigantic flowers. Some readers may be shaken by Virginia's ferocity-it's hard to soften madness-but Vanessa's act of love is recounted with grace and sensitivity in this remarkable collaboration. Ages 4-8. Agent: Jackie Kaiser, Westwood Creative Artists. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
When Sendak's Max wears his wolf suit, he acts out, but in this story, when Virginia wakes up feeling "wolfish," it signals the "doldrums." Virginia's gloominess settles on the household: "The whole house sank. Up became down. Bright became dim. Glad became gloom." Her kindly sister, Vanessa, tries treats, music, and humor, but nothing works until she suggests that Virginia think of a place where she would be happy. The artistic Vanessa then re-creates this imagined world in their bedroom using paint and colored paper. The forest that grows in the girls' room -- and from their imagination -- is bright and surreal, lifting Virginia's mood. The plum for adults is that the sisters are named Virginia and Vanessa, their brother is Thoby, and the sunny kingdom is "Bloomsberry," thus adding a level of literary and biographical resonance to the tale of sisterly love. Arsenault's illustrations, showing the gradual transformation of Virginia from wolf back to little girl, and of her world from gloom to glad, do a fine job of conveying the isolation and chaos of a mind uneased. sarah ellis (c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Young Virginia has awoken feeling wolfish, and she looks the part, too. No manner of comforting by her sister, Vanessa, can snap her out of it. The whole house sank. / Up became down. / Bright became dim. / Glad became gloom. Eventually, Virginia offers that she might be happy in a perfect place with frosted cakes and beautiful flowers and excellent trees to climb. So Vanessa sets to work creating the fantastical wonderland herself, painting colorful, bucolic scenes filled with candy flowers, turquoise birds, and more. Right in step with Maclear's elegant, affecting text, Arsenault's fetching mixed-media illustrations have a sophisticated yet homespun feel, featuring smudgy black silhouettes, expressive hand-lettered text, and plenty of sly visual detail. The story is inspired by real-life sisters Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell, and though the little girl's doldrums do have a gravity that evinces the story's source material, the book is ultimately a feel-good celebration of the power of the imagination and art to create perfect places in the world when none can be found.--McKulski, Kristen Copyright 2010 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Drawing inspiration from Virginia Woolf and her sister, Maclear tells the story of two siblings who share a strong bond and creative spirit despite their dissimilar personalities. When Virginia awakens in a wolfish mood, Vanessa uses her imagination to right the upside-down world. Through her wall paintings, she takes Virginia and readers out of the bad mood and into Bloomsberry, the perfect place. The wolfish mood is communicated not only through words ("Do not brush your teeth so loudly"), but also through the size and style of text. The louder Virginia howls, the larger and wilder the lettering becomes. As Vanessa's paintings develop, the wolf's silhouette changes into a girl wearing a hair bow. Gray shapes strewn across the pages settle down into the colorful and serene flowers of Bloomsberry. It is the delicacy of the mixed-media illustrations (ink, pencil, watercolor, gouache) that tames the feral Virginia and gives real strength to the story. Parents will enjoy sharing this book with their sometimes "wolfish" children.-Carolyn Janssen, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, OH (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
(Picture book. 5-10)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
