Blue Spot: Walt Disney Animation Studios Artist Showcase

by Griselda Sastrawinata-Lemay, Griselda Sastrawinata-Lemay (Illustrator)

Overview

Daisy the kitten has gotten a blue spot on her new white dress. How did this happen, asks her mama. Daisy has an answer, which is anything but simple. Instead, she responds with a wonderful fantastical story that includes a blue monster and plenty of blue treats. Mama encourages Daisy to tell the truth in the end, which she does, but even Mama loves the creativity in Daisy's first answer—and kids will, too.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781368024594
Publisher:	Disney Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/24/2019
Series:	Artist Showcase Series
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	665,076
Product dimensions:	9.80(w) x 11.60(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Griselda Sastrawinata-Lemay is a visual development artist for Walt Disney Animation Studios. In addition to many animated film projects, she worked on Moana and she's currently working on Frozen 2. She is the illustrator of the Moana Little Golden Book.

Editorial Reviews

11/01/2019

PreS-Gr 1—Daisy, a small gray kitten, shows her mother a large blue spot on her new white dress. When her mother asks how it happened, the golden-eyed youngster describes all of the day's activities that might have caused the stain. "It all started when I was drawing during art class with a blue pen." Coincidentally, every venture includes something blue: blue chalk, blue paint, blue ice cream. Each activity becomes more fantastical as the kitten weaves the story of her action-packed day: blueberry rain, blueberry jam puddles she had to traverse on stilts, a blue monster, and so on. Illustrations created using Photoshop are large and clear, stretching from margin to margin. The feline's shaggy-dog tale is encouraged by her mother, who is undaunted by the stained dress and appears to be enjoying her child's vivid imagination. All through the story, readers can see the pristine dress is stainless, until the very end when the mystery is solved. VERDICT In the category of much ado about nothing, this embellished recounting of events is engagingly illustrated and enjoyable, but is strictly additional. —Maryann H. Owen, Oak Creek Public Library WI

School Library Journal

2019-06-10
There's a blue splotch on Daisy's new white dress—but how did it get there?

When Daisy shows Mama the spot, Mama immediately asks, "How did that happen?" The answer is anything but immediate. Daisy begins reporting events that seem initially to be potential answers: "It all started when I was drawing during art class with a blue pen"; using blue chalk for hopscotch; eating blueberries. But none of these caused the spot, and Daisy's reports veer into the fantastical: "then it started raining blueberries!"; blueberry rain becomes blueberry jam; the jam spouts like a geyser; Daisy surfs a wave of blueberry pie; a blue monster sobs blue tears. The ever stretching tale saves the real answer for the end, where its very ordinariness makes a funny cap to the previous adventure-filled possibilities. Sastrawinata-Lemay's digital illustrations are ebullient, with soft textures, soft edges, and, naturally, many shades of blue. Daisy and Mama are anthropomorphic cats with wide, round eyes (and the blue monster has nine eyes, all googly). Daisy often stares directly out at readers, which sometimes feels incongruous but also emphasizes that she's the storyteller, not just to Mama, but to readers. Oddly, although their cat-shaped mouths can make plenty of varied expressions, Mama often sports an empty smile that doesn't match the moment.

A stain is mundane, but this jovial yarn's quite the opposite. (author's note) (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews