The Fabulous Life of Diana Vreeland
September 1, 2021
Aspirationally encyclopedic, this survey covers the pig's evolution, domestication, characteristics, adaptations, importance as a global food source, appearances in myth, and more. Bird selects fresh facts. Pigs are resistant to snake venom. They're as smart as dogs and capable of episodic memory--the ability to learn from past experiences. She's forthcoming about scatological and reproductive attributes, too: Across cultures, the omnivorous pig has played a role as a household waste recycler, including of excrement. A "Facts of Life" section includes details about mating behaviors, the shape of a boar's penis, and piglets' growth stages. The rectum and anus figure in an anatomical illustration; Bird asserts that a "full-grown hog will produce six and a half pounds of manure a day." She cheerfully addresses young readers: "Here's a fact that may surprise you: pigs can swim!" Several spreads reveal the international array of meat products derived from the pig. "Everything but the Squeal" examines how collagen, bristles, skin, and even heart valves are utilized in industrial production and medicine. Pintonato's illustrations vacillate between realistic details and fanciful tableaux. In an anthropomorphized spread about pig illnesses, several hospital beds contain pigs attended by health care workers. Additional sections include pigs in pop culture and as pets; thumbnails highlight 20 of the species's more than 500 breeds. A table of contents is of marginal utility; the project entirely lacks indexing, documentation, or readers' resources. An interesting, absorbing browser. (Informational picture book. 6-9)
COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
July 12, 2021
The intimidatingly fabulous Diana Vreeland (1903–1989), 20th-century tastemaker and editor of Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue, breezily narrates this picture book tribute to her aesthetic achievements: “I turned fashion on its head, dreaming up stories of glamorous worlds.” Blumenthal’s Vreeland airily skims by biographical detail—the telling jumps from the figure’s youthful love of dance to becoming “the Empress of Fashion” in a single spread. Instead, the figure’s merrily madcap worldview dominates, building to a series of dazzling quotes from her legendary column, “Why Don’t You?” (“Have every room done up in every color green?”) Katstaller’s trendy, clean-lined illustrations decorously tidy Vreeland’s opulent world, taming the visionary wildness of her famous red room. Still, it’s a winsome, if partial, introduction to a style icon who chose to “never, ever boring.” Ages 4–8.
November 1, 2021
Gr 2-5-Readers get a glimpse into the life of fashion icon Diana Vreeland in this picture book biography. Born in Paris in 1903, Vreeland grew up surrounded by art, music, and design. She had a love of bright colors and bold makeup that led her to a career in fashion and writing a column for Harper's Bazaar called, "Why Don't You?" The column was filled with quirky fashion advice such as, "Why don't you wear violet velvet mittens with everything?" Using quotations from the column and Vreeland's autobiography, this book is written as if Vreeland is speaking directly to readers. With only a few sentences on each page, the biographical information is sparse. Instead, this reads like a conversation with Vreeland as she tells readers highlights from her life. An author's note fills in more details. Also included is a resource page for those wanting to know more about the fashionista. The mixed media artwork is the star of the book. The bold colors pop and the stylistic design make a nice counterpoint to the text. The palette of purples and reds reflect Vreeland's love of red lipstick and her suggestion to wear violet mittens. Included in the illustrations are cut-out collages of what appear to be newspapers or magazines. VERDICT Purchase to fill gaps in artsy picture book biography shelves.-V. Lynn Christiansen, Wiley International Studies Magnet Elem. Sch., Raleigh, NC
Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
October 15, 2021
Grades K-3 Diana Vreeland was a "little odd" (or rather, "e-c-c-e-n-t-r-i-c"), the "Empress of Fashion," and certainly "never, ever boring." Narrated in the first person with spirited quotes from Vreeland's autobiography, this breezy, picture-book summary of the twentieth-century cultural icon's life begins with her childhood in France. To compensate for being plain beside a beautiful mother and sister, Vreeland developed an original style. After her family moved to the U.S., it served her well as she became a fashion influencer, working as a columnist at Harper's Bazaar, editor-in-chief of Vogue, and a consultant to the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The biography's title derives from dress advice once given in her zany column, "Why Don't You?" At the heart of Vreeland's unconventional panache was her love of color, particularly the color red. Each double-page spread features aptly stylized collage artwork against a particular color scheme, and of course, red is prominent! A concluding note gives a more detailed, straightforward account of Vreeland's work, flair, and influence. A fitting tribute to her fashion finesse.
COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
July 15, 2021
The life of fashion editor Diana Vreeland is explored in an imagined first-person voice. This story of Vreeland's rise to fame in the fashion industry begins with an anecdote from when she was 13. Her mother objects to her use of red fingernail polish, applied in an attempt to look like "an exotic princess." (What precisely she meant by exotic is not explained.) Vreeland loves dressing up and dancing, and "things [a]ren't always rosy" with her mother, a fact that's fleshed out a bit more in the book's backmatter. In an abrupt turn, readers learn that Vreeland becomes an "Empress of Fashion." The narration continues, relating her preferences for eccentricity, "radiant colors" and their tones, and the color red; followed by her job at Harper's Bazaar magazine; her Harper's "Why Don't You?" column; and her work at Vogue and the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute. The text captures Vreeland's unique vision, though it's not clear if the text includes invented dialogue or exact quotes or a combination. Every image of Vreeland in these pages depicts her with the same stylized grin, and the palette lacks spark for such a fashion iconoclast: A spread, for instance, devoted to Vreeland's love of the "right green--a spring green" is dominated by a dull olive-green shade. Backmatter includes resources for further reading. Katstaller includes women of color as models and other background characters in this story of the White fashion icon. Not quite "violet" enough. (Informational picture book. 4-10)
COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.