Madlenka - Incorporating many of the visually astonishing methods of Tibet Through the Red Box, S!s chronicles the adventures of a New York City girl (based on S!s's own daughter) whose loose tooth occasions a one-of-a-kind round-the-world tour. S!s reels readers into Madlenka's neighborhood using meticulous cross-hatch drawings with a pale blue-gray wash: a distant view of the earth, then a continent, then an islandDall with tiny red dotsDlead up to the title page, which zeroes in on Madlenka's building on her block on Manhattan's Lower East Side. At last, the red dot becomes distinguishable as Madlenka's blouse as she stands in the window on the fourth floor. Discovering her tooth loose, the girl runs down the three flights of stairs to spread the news. Ages 4-8.
Madlenka's Dog -- Favorite characters return for more fun and games. Her persistent requests for a dog denied, Madlenka takes matters into her own hands (and gets more than she bargained for) in Madlenka's Dog by Peter Sis. As Madlenka strolls her city block with her imaginary dog on a leash, lift-up flaps and die-cut windows reveal her neighbors' own dream dogs. As he did with Tibet Through the Red Box, S!s takes readers to exotic lands, yet continues to bring them back to the comfort of what they know. In Tibet, it was the father's study; here, it is Madlenka's block. When Madlenka returns home and tells her parents that she "went all around the world," readers will feel that they, too, have been armchair travelers, delivered safely home in S!s's capable hands. Ages 4-8.
By Peter Sis, Hardcover, Simplified Chinese characters, 34-38 pages, 10.1"x10.2"
