Books |
Fancy Nancy
Jane O'Connor
By
Published: Jan 01, 2007
Category:
Children
Eloise doesn’t translate to the new millennium. The Plaza’s gone to hotel heaven; might we interest you in a condo? Anyway, a spoiled child terrorizing well-meaning employees is no longer charming. (Was it ever?) And as for Eloise’s absentee mother….
Still, girls love the core aspect of Eloise: dress-up and pretend. I learned this the hard way when I publicly declared our daughter was destined to go through life as a tomboy. Yes, she was — when she was three. But now she is five and changing clothes a dozen times a day. And she loves “Fancy Nancy.”
“Fancy Nancy” has become an industry. There was a sequel, with a slew of books, not to mention dolls and accessories. Ordinarily, I’d recoil. Not here.
What’s great about Nancy is that she’s no raving beauty. She’s got curly hair and a bit of a pudge. What makes her special is her love of frills and bows, satins and silks. She’s covered her walls with travel posters and fashion pictures. Her dress-up chest is overflowing. And when we meet her, she’s wearing a tutu, ballet shoes — and a miniature tiara.
Her favorite color: fuscia. Her pen: feathered. Her problem: her family. Very not fancy. “They never even ask for sprinkles.”
So Nancy gets a “stupendous” idea. (“That’s a fancy word for great.”) She’ll offer “fancy” lessons.
She puts a note on the refrigerator. Soon there’s a knock on her door. Her mother, father and little sister have come to sit at her feet and learn how to be “fancy.”
In her parents’ room, there’s a search for fancy clothes. Of course there are none, so Nancy rushes off for….accessories. And then, with her family hopelessly tarted up, it’s out to dinner.
Something happens at dinner to puncture Nancy’s grandiosity. In the end, Nancy’s a regular girl again. Oh, maybe with a few grand tendencies.
The story’s told in short bursts of narrative, all told by Nancy. The illustrations are charming (the sparkles on the cover are especially appreciated). For those who fear the ghost of Eloise has slipped into this next-generation cosmopolitan kid, a real-live 5-year-old and her father can attest that 30 pages of Nancy are not too many at all. And we expect to feel that way until someone here turns 7.
To buy “Fancy Nancy” from Amazon.com, click here.
To buy “Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy” from Amazon.com, click here.
