FICTION

Prickly Rose

by Shelley GILL
illus. by Judy Love. 32p. maps. Charlesbridge. Feb. 2014. RTE $17.95. ISBN 9781570913563; pap. $7.95. ISBN 9781570913570; ebk. $6.99. ISBN 9781607346319. LC 2012039607.
COPY ISBN
K-Gr 2—No longer wanting to be left out of her older sister Sitka's adventures, Prickly Rose takes a journey through Alaska to find her and helps sculpt Alaska's sprawling and varied terrain along the way. With an inconsistent meter, forced slant rhymes, and poor word choice, Gill's verse is awkward. Prickly Rose is a feisty heroine, but her companions are bland and undefined. Coupled with a lack of transitions, the story becomes more jarring and confusing with each page turn, and the ending, in which the two sisters are finally reunited, comes off as saccharine rather than celebratory or moving. Love's illustrations are colorful and expressive but cannot save the narrative.—Laura J. Giunta, Garden City Public Library, NY
Prickly hates that her sister towers over her (literally: Sitka is ten feet tall). Prickly wreaks havoc trying to keep up with Sitka's adventures across Alaska, although that havoc produces several of the state's now-iconic sights. Somewhat rocky rhymes tell the story, which doubles as a tour of Alaska's major attractions. The antic illustrations have an old-timey Norman Rockwell look.
Reviewed by Laura J. Giunta , Feb 01, 2014

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