The Goat-Faced Girl: A Classic Italian Folktale - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1567923933 ISBN 13: 9781567923933

Publisher: David R. Godine, Publisher, 2009

Synopsis

Like many good fables, this story opens with a found-ling left rather inconveniently, if not surprisingly in the woods. A large lizard, ever conscious of tripping hazards, picks up the infant and takes her home, where she soon grows into a pretty, pampered, and generally useless young woman named Isabella. Despite her adoptive mother's efforts (for the lizard is really a witch in disguise) to shape her up, the girl prefers the alluring life offered her by the charming Prince Rupert, a world of cooks and servants, palaces and jewels, luxury and indolence. Luckily, the lizard woman is a canny, concerned parent. She does not suffer fools lightly and is not about to let her daughter's too-easy transition to palace life go unchallenged. And so she arranges a surprise transformation for her daughter one that puts the prince's marital plans on hold and gives the witch just enough time to hammer home a few lessons about the downside of idleness, the inanity of vanity, and the satisfactions of self-reliance. In this witty, modern interpretation of a classic Italian folktale, Leah Marinsky Sharpe has crafted a light-hearted mother-daughter fable with a moral that is sure to strike a chord with readers of all ages. The illustrations by Jane Marinsky glow with rich color and playful humor. Together, words and pictures provide a zesty treat for parents and children alike.

About this title

About the Author:

Leah Marinsky Sharpe has told stories all her life, but this is the first one to be published. When not writing children's books, she is finishing her Ph.D. in conservation biology.

Jane Marinsky's editorial illustrations have appeared in many major publications. She is proud that her daughter, Leah, is talented, capable, imaginative, and not at all lazy.

Review:

Rich storytelling and intricately imagined artwork make this debut a standout. [. . .] Marinsky's paintings, in the chalky, sun-bleached colors of the Italian renaissance, contain many small pleasures: the woods and flowers of medieval tapestries, the goat-headed princess licking cupcake batter off her goat nose, and a portrait of the shallow prince's just fate. A must for anyone who would rather be a sorceress than a princess. --Publishers Weekly, starred review

The Goat-Faced Girl, a witty and richly illustrated retelling of an old Italian tale that will probably be new to most young American readers. Children ages 5-10 will relish Jane Marinsky's colorful, naïve-style paintings of Isabella learning to persevere, especially the image of her determinedly stirring a bowl of batter, unaware of the dab of chocolate on her goaty nose. --The Wall Street Journal

The Goat-Faced Girl: A Classic Italian Folktale is a spunky retelling of a traditional Italian folktale with a new emphasis on self-reliance, especially for lazy would-be princesses. Recast with a lizard-sorceress, a shallow prince, and an indolent heroine who is serenely unaware of her troubling penchant to switch heads with a goat. All turns out for the best, with some surprising twists. The Goat-Faced Girl is a refreshing new take on a sly old tale, beautifully embellished with stellar illustrations of great imagination. The Goat-Faced Girl will appeal to pre-teenagers as well as a younger audience age 6 and up. --Children's Bookwatch, Midwest Book Review

About this edition

• Publisher: David R. Godine, Publisher
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1567923933
• ISBN 13: 9781567923933
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Marinsky Jane