Jean-Philippe Arrou-Vignod was born in Bordeaux. He has written many books for children and adults and is currently teaching in the Parisian suburbs.
PreS-Gr 1-Despite moments of inspired writing and appealing pictures, these two titles fail to make a smooth transition into English. In the first title, Rita is in a bad mood, despite it being her birthday. However, when one of her presents runs away, she discovers a talking dog that she names Whatsit and they have a good time. In the second book, Rita and Whatsit go to the beach with very different ideas of fun. After some creative play, there is a role reversal and a cleverly humorous ending. The illustrations are done in black and white with red accents. Rita is a round-headed, shaggy-haired, dot-eyed waif, and Whatsit is distinctly Snoopy-esque, with his large head, long black ears, and small body. The artwork is cartoonish and simple, with expansively white backgrounds containing little more than an umbrella, or a line representing the horizon. These books clearly owe a nod to Ian Falconer's opinionated pig, but something seems to have been lost in translation. The texts lack cohesiveness and have a habit of abruptly changing tense. While lines such as "Rita loves the beach./Whatsit the dog doesn't like it quite so much," matched with a picture of the pup lugging all of the beach gear, show true potential, these derivative titles ultimately miss the mark. The second is better than the first, so perhaps later titles will be worthwhile, but for now, pass on them.-Amy Lilien-Harper, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.
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