Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
In this insightful look at sisterhood, two young foxes take different approaches to playing. The mildly traitorous Zelda takes advantage of Ivy, her gullible younger sibling. Ivy, on the other hand, indulges her sister and wears a look of quiet dismay when things go wrong. In the first of three chapters, Ivy pretends to be a trapeze artist, and ringmaster Zelda tests her with increasingly difficult tricks. Next, when Zelda suggests a make-over, Ivy is her trusting victim: "Zelda cut scallops into Ivy's fluffy tail.... 'Shall I scallop your tail?' asked Ivy. 'Wait until I'm done,' said Zelda." Yet, as Ivy well knows, her big sister has a big heart. At the conclusion, Ivy's wish for a silver baton "just like yours" prompts Zelda to anonymously (and somewhat reluctantly) donate her own prize toy. Kvasnosky (Mr. Chips) shows that age has its advantages (Zelda owns the baton and gets the top bunk) as well as its responsibilities (Zelda gives Ivy the baton because of her remorse). Gouache images pair waxy black outlines with warm, crayony colors. Kvasnosky's clean draftsmanship of the foxes, with their arrow-shaped faces, black-dot eyes and tiny fox toys, recalls Kevin Henkes's mice, and the true-to-life childhood situations recall Henkes as well. Rare for a book about siblings, its sympathies reach out to readers regardless of their birth order. Ages 5-9. (May)
School Library Journal
(PreS-Gr 2) Children everywhere will recognize and relate to these three stories that take a gentle, humorous look at sibling dynamics. Ivy is a guileless young fox and Zelda is her bossy big sister. In "Circus Act," Zelda assumes the role of master of ceremonies ("I'm the oldest") and spurs Ivy on to attempt ever-more daring feats on a swing until she takes a spill. In "The Latest Style," Zelda thinks up a variety of ways for the two of them to "doozy up " their tails "like movie stars" using Ivy as a model. In the final vignette, Ivy desperately wants a baton just like her sister's and Zelda tells her to put fairy dust under her pillow and wish for one. The wish comes true, or seems to, when Zelda places her own baton under Ivy's pillow. The energetic gouache-resist artwork features bright colors, homey scenes, and priceless expressions achieved with a minimum of line. Doozy up your shelves with Zelda and Ivy. Luann Toth, School Library Journal.
Horn Book Magazine
Zelda decides that she and her younger sister will play circus; she is the announcer, and Ivy is the performer of increasingly death-defying, Zelda-dictated tricks. Surprise! Ivy falls off her swing. Zelda is there to comfort her, in her fashion: "Don't worry...I have trouble with that trick, too." Next, Zelda says, "Let's doozy up our tails like movie stars" (Zelda and Ivy are foxes), but only Ivy's tail is painted, scalloped, and beglittered. When it's Zelda's turn, she says, "Maybe some other time." In the first two chapters of this dead-on-target exposé of siblinghood, Zelda reigns supreme; in the third chapter, there is a momentary power shift as Zelda's know-it-all big-sister tactics backfire and she has to be much, much nicer to Ivy than she ever was truly mean. But only temporarily-this is, after all, a realistic story. Kvasnosky's illustrations are as spirited and full of life as her very funny text. The playfulness of the book's design-backgrounds painted in bright gouache colors, a different color for each chapter; borders breached by tails, noses, swings, and twirling batons; big square pictures alternating with action-progressing panels-is grounded by the forthright, vigorous pictures. Bold black outlines and rough-hewn textures infuse the art with energy and lend each form an appealing solidity. Kvasnosky has Kevin Henkes's gift for communicating a wealth of emotion through the dot of an eye or the angle of a tail-and big and little sisters everywhere will identify with every jaunty swish and nervous droop.
From the Publisher
Children everywhere will recognize and relate to these three stories that take a gentle, humorous look at sibling dynamics . . . Doozy up your shelves with Zelda and Ivy.
—School Library Journal (starred review)
In this insightful look at sisterhood, two young foxes take different approaches to playing . . . Rare for a book about siblings, its sympathies reach out to readers regardless of their birth order.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
APR/MAY 08 - AudioFile
The Fox sisters, Zelda the elder and Ivy the younger, are siblings of the finest kind. Whether doing acrobatic antics on a swing—can a fox balance on its tail?—or "doozying" up a tail in the latest style—try a little color and snipping—each sister is a model of understanding and friendship. Jenny Selig narrates gently and earnestly in a child-friendly voice. She uses emphasis and elongation in Zelda's voice to underscore the pressure an elder sister might use to coerce a younger sister. As Ivy, Selig is unassuming, trusting, and sweet. Pacing is slow, letting both the Fox girls and the humor shine. A.R. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
