Maya's World: Angelina of Italy (Pictureback(R)) - Softcover

Angelou, Maya

Softcover

ISBN 10: 037582832X ISBN 13: 9780375828324

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers, 2004

Synopsis

ANGELINA LOVES PIZZA. So much so that when she hears that there is a Leaning Tower of Pisa, and mistakenly thinks it’s made of pizzas, she is so distressed that she must go see it for herself!

About this title

About the Author:

In her life, Dr. Maya Angelou has been a dancer, an actress, a director, an activist, a journalist, a teacher, and an award-winning writer. She is also a three-time Grammy Award winner for her autobiographical spoken-word recordings. She lives in Harlem, NY, and Winston-Salem, NC.

Lizzy Rockwell has written and/or illustrated 19 books for children. Lizzy lives in Norwalk, CT, with her husband, two sons, a dog, and two cats.

From Publishers Weekly:

"Let me tell you about my friend Angelina," writes Angelou at the start of this minimal, clichéd story, one of four launching the Maya's World paperback series starring children from various countries. Angelina, who lives in Italy, is so enamored of pizza that her older sister calls her "Patty Pizza." When one night at dinner her uncle tells the story of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the girl envisions "a tower made of delicious, saucy pizza pies rising as tall as the church steeple down the street" and is chagrined to think that, if it fell over, "no one would ever have a chance to eat it! Especially her!" When she fails to believe her mother's assertion that the tower is not made of pizza ("Don't worry, darlinghissima," she tells Angelina), the family drives to Pisa. There—with "big tears rolling down [her] cheeks"—Angelina dashes past a guard and under the ropes to get a closer look at the structure. With relief, she discovers, "There wasn't a piece of pepperoni or drippy mozzarella in sight!" In the tale's predictably contrived ending, Angelina earns "a great big pizza pie with everything!" Though cheerful, Rockwell's spare illustrations are as one-dimensional as the narrative. Unfortunately, neither will satiate the appetites of youngsters hungry for information about a child from another culture. Ages 4-8.
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About this edition

• Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 037582832X
• ISBN 13: 9780375828324
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 24
• Illustrator: Rockwell Lizzy