Lady Bugatti - Softcover

Maxner, Joyce

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0688103405 ISBN 13: 9780688103408

Publisher: Lothrop Lee & Shepard, 1991

Synopsis

Lady Bugatti and her insect guests dine together and then have an enjoyable evening at the theater

About this title

From School Library Journal:

PreSchool-Grade 3-- Maxner returns to the world of insects so creatively and successfully employed in Nicholas Cricket (HarperCollins, 1989) . However, whereas that story had a kind of logic--it was possible to imagine insects and other field creatures congregating at the local cafe to dance to the music of a cricket band--Lady Bugatti, an elegant ladybug, lives in a sophisticated city of the 1920s. The rather labored account tells of an insect dinner party followed by a trip to the theater. The only tension occurs when Lady Bugatti vanishes during the performance, but the mystery is solved when she reappears at the end of the program to present a prize to the winning performer. Hawkes's full-page, richly colored paintings create a fully realized, highly styled art-deco world--one could imagine Fred Astaire dancing down the sweep of staircase where Lady Bugatti makes her first appearance. The guests, Dragonia Fly and Madame Flutterby, are elegantly dressed in the Egyptian and Japanese styles of the time, and great attention has been paid to decorative detail. Hawkes has creatively utilized insect motifs throughout--the murals on the stairs, the neon marquee, and the resplendent theater curtain feature leaping grasshoppers, crickets, and ants. The rather thin text has been richly and inventively interpreted, and children may well be intrigued by the idea of an insect city and the visual consistency with which it is portrayed. However, there is little in the story itself to catch or hold their interest. --Eleanor K. MacDonald, Beverly Hills Pub . Lib .
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly:

"Bupji Beetle, Dragonia Fly, Anatole Ant, Madame Flutterby, Bumbly Bee and you and I" are the guests of Lady Bugatti for an elegant dinner and evening at the theater. As the overture is about to begin, however, the troupe realizes that Lady Bugatti has disappeared. Various performers take the stage--"An owl croons a love poem to a tree. / Three toads do a tappety-tap. / Shahna Snake ripples up to high C. / Rabbit Jack pulls a bat from a hat"--with no sign of the glamorous hostess. When the last act opens, Lady Bugatti is finally seen--the highlight of the evening. Quite sophisticated for young readers, Maxner's slightly awkward verse offers no clues to the allure of the mysterious heroine, so the intended climax falls short. Far more engaging are Hawkes's ( When the Troll Heard the Squeak ) singular human/ insect creatures--eerily graceful with shimmering wings and arcing antennae. Distorted perspectives and a darkly vibrant palette lend a macabre tone to this baroque bash. Ages 5-up.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Lothrop Lee & Shepard
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0688103405
• ISBN 13: 9780688103408
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Hawkes Kevin