Virginia Wolf

by Kyo Maclear, Isabelle Arsenault

Overview

When Virginia wakes up feeling "wolfish," her sister, Vanessa, tries to cheer her up. After treats, funny faces and other efforts fail, Vanessa begins to paint a glorious mural depicting the world of the sisters’ imagination. Will it help lift Virginia from her doldrums?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781771380935
Publisher:	Kids Can Press
Publication date:	03/01/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	623,931
File size:	11 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Kyo Maclear is an award-winning writer and novelist. Her first book for children, Spork, has received a number of honors, including a 2011 Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award nomination. She lives in Toronto, Ontario.;Matte Stephens is an illustrator and fine artist, and a firm believer in the idea that art can be found all around us. Mr. Flux is his first full-length picture book. Matte and his lovely wife, Vivienne, make all kinds of art in Peterborough, New Hampshire, in the company of their five cats and one dog, where change is always welcome.

Editorial Reviews

…an ambitious story about girlish blues, sisterly differences and the healing power of art…Isabelle Arsenault…imaginatively and deliciously depicts a child's inner world by altering her outward appearance.
—The New York Times

Pamela Paul

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.)

Publishers Weekly

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

School Library Journal

In the literary bounty of books about bad moods and bad days, this one goes deeper than most, poignantly showing literal and metaphorical glimpses of real depression. "One day my sister Virginia woke up feeling wolfish. She made wolf sounds and did strange things," begins narrator Vanessa. Huddled in bed, only pointy ears showing, is a wolf. Virginia's unable to bear the bright-yellow gingham of Vanessa's dress or the sound of Vanessa brushing her own teeth. This is potent misery: "The whole house sank. Up became down. Bright became dim." Vanessa creeps into bed to comfort her sister, but what finally helps is painting. At the wolf's suggestion, Vanessa paints a whimsical, expanding world called "Bloomsberry," bursting with blossoms, birds and magic. Arsenault reproduces the earlier "Up became down" spread but inverts its position and hue: Now objects waft upwards and the mood is buoyant. The wolf--previously a black near-silhouette with snout and tail, wearing a dress--morphs back into a girl. Wolf ears, silhouetted from behind, become a hair bow. Ink, pencil and paint deftly divide color from black-and-white as emotional symbolism. Lettering is carefully handwritten. Knowledge of Virginia Woolf and her painter-sister Vanessa Bell is unnecessary; this works beautifully as a bad-day/bad-mood or animal-transformation tale, while readers who know actual depression will find it handled with tenderly forceful aplomb. (Picture book. 5-10)

Kirkus Reviews