Wanda's Freckles - Softcover

Barbara Azore was born in England and immigrated to Canada in 1967. She spent many years working for the Edmonton Public School Board in elementary and junior high-school libraries. Since retiring, she has had articles published in the Edmonton Journal and a parenting magazine. Barbara Azore lives in Edmonton.

Georgia Graham, born and raised in Calgary, has been using chalk pastels since grade four. After graduating from the Alberta College of Art, she began using her artwork to entertain children in her Sunday-school class. She has illustrated many children’s books, including the critically acclaimed Wanda and the Wild Hair and Wanda and the Frogs, written by Barbara Azore. Georgia Graham lives on a tree farm in central Alberta with her husband and dog, Ginger.

PreSchool-K—Wanda, with her wild red hair and cheerful attitude, is not troubled by her generous helping of freckles until some boys make fun of her. Embarrassed, she tries lipstick and paint to cover them, then toothpaste to lighten them. After she gives the matter more thought, however, she decides that it's the boys' problem, and that she feels fine about her freckles. The premise is promising, but the text does not live up to the flamboyant, lively illustrations. Graham uses bright chalk pastels to show Wanda's hair curling energetically off the pages, to caricature the boys with extra-large taunting mouths, and to put a lot of patterning and texture into the backgrounds. Everything in the pictures seems to be in motion. The narrative, however, is lackluster. When a dog licks Wanda, its owner, a "little old lady," says, "I'm afraid he likes you.... You can't blame him...everyone must like you." That event is the turning point for Wanda. She remembers that she has friends who like her the way she is, but readers do not see them. In her dream that night, the teasing boys have large spots on their faces. While adults could use the story as a discussion starter about acceptance, on its own it is unsatisfying.—Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA END