When Stella was Very, Very Small (Stella and Sam) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0888999062 ISBN 13: 9780888999061

Publisher: Groundwood Books, 2009

Synopsis

Marie-Louise Gay has gone back in time to answer the questions often asked by the children who read and love her Stella books. Where does Stella get her wild ideas? How big is Stella’s imagination? What did Stella look like when she was small? How did Stella come to be the big sister to Sam? Although Gay didn’t know what she would find when she started to explore Stella’s childhood, she soon realized that when Stella was very small, she saw the world in her own unique way with wonder, curiosity, and the sense that everything is possible. Evocative watercolors and imaginative text make this one of the most endearing entries in the series.

About this title

About the Author:

Marie-Louise Gay is an internationally acclaimed author and illustrator of children’s books. She has won two Governor General’s Literary Awards, the Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Canadian Picture Book Award, the Vicky Metcalf Award for Children’s Literature and the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award. She has also been nominated for the prestigious Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award and the Hans Christian Andersen Award. Marie-Louise’s very popular Stella and Sam series has been translated into more than fifteen languages and is loved by children all over the world. Her recent books include Short Stories for Little Monsters and Mustafa. She lives in Montreal. marielouisegay.com

From School Library Journal:

Starred Review. PreSchool-Grade 2—This new offering in Gay's delightful series about inquisitive and imaginative Stella explores her vantage points from each developmental stage to date. As a crawler, she's eye to eye with a turtle. While her curly orange locks distinguish her from the reptile, the green attire and prone position suggest a mirror image. A goldfish and dog phase follow. Gay's sensitivity to the rich inner life of childhood flows into her art and language. As a toddler, Stella ascends to the top of the sofa, surveying "the whole world." A seven-rung ladder propped against the cushions suggests her perception of the adventure. When she is a preschooler, the words in her book "looked like ants running off the pages," and that's just how they appear. Gay's mixed-media scenes dance with the energy of scribbled butterflies on the walls, teetering objects, and a blanket-turned-turban that flaps as Stella braves the desert storm in the sandbox. When she becomes bigger, the turtle struggles to keep up with her brisk pace. Her yard is no longer a force with which to be reckoned, but rather an orderly place where she pursues entomology. As for her literacy skills, "the ants in her books have become words, and the words have become stories." Stella is pictured reading to little Sam (who's now wearing the green outfit). Subtle and sweet, yet full of life and humor, the child's world is a place kids will want to visit again and again.—Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library
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About this edition

• Publisher: Groundwood Books
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0888999062
• ISBN 13: 9780888999061
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Gay Marie-Louise