A Proper Little Lady - Hardcover

Hilton, Nette

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0531058603 ISBN 13: 9780531058602

Publisher: Orchard Books (NY), 1990

Synopsis

Annabella feels like a proper little lady in her fancy clothes but finds them a bit inconvenient when she goes out and gets embroiled in messy fun.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 2-- A wry look at ladylike deportment with delightfully frenetic illustrations that belie the "propriety" of the lead character's behavior. One day, while peering in the mirror at her flyaway red hair and freckle-covered nose, Annabella Jones decides to be a proper little lady. So she dresses herself in appropriate attire--a dress with a bow, frilly petticoat, shiny black shoes, a long gold chain. Properly bedecked and bejeweled, Annabella swishes and taps her way through her neighborhood, stopping only to rescue a treed cat, instruct two small children in go-cart racing, and join her friends for a quick game of football. She returns home in a bedraggled state, and her mother wisely suggests that it would be easier for Annabella to be a proper little lady in blue jeans and a T-shirt, advice she happily follows. First-time illustrator Wilcox' style is similar to Bob Graham's, although she does lack his technical maturity and economy of line at this point in her career. Her humorous, exaggerated pen-and-ink illustrations brightly washed in watercolor on a plain white background offer visual clues as the story unfolds. A good choice for storytimes, the book has a brief text offering satisfying sound effects and repetition that will enable listeners to anticipate Annabella's next steps. --Dorothy Houlihan, White Plains Public Library, NY
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly:

One day, Annabella Jones decides that she will make herself into a proper little lady. She puts on a fancy blue dress, with a frilly petticoat and knickers underneath. Next she dons lacy socks, shiny black shoes, a big straw hat, white lace gloves, and completes her outfit with a long gold chain. As the bedecked Annabella parades down the street, we hear the "swish, swish, swish" of her dress, the "tap, tap, tap" of her shoes and the "chink, chink, chink" of her gold chain. But soon she is called upon to rescue a cat from a tree, which marks the beginning of the proper little lady's undoing. In the end, her torn dress makes a "flop, flop, flop" sound, her dirty shoes go "clunk, clunk, clunk" and her broken gold chain says "snap, snap, snap." Annabella may have failed at being a lady, but she will succeed in finding her way into readers' hearts: both text and pictures make her a thoroughly winning girl. Ages 3-6.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Orchard Books (NY)
• Publication date: 1990
• ISBN 10: 0531058603
• ISBN 13: 9780531058602
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Wilcox Cathy