Count Silvernose: A Story from Italy

Rating:
Summary: Count Silvernose
Review: I thought this was an excellent picture book that would be suitable for many ages and for girls in particular. This book breaks a lot of typical sterotypes that are present in our culture today. First the heroine is not male and secondly, she is not beautiful, but ugly even by her own standards. So this makes the story very original and captures the reader's interest because of these reasons. Another important thing that this story does is that it grabs the reader's attention and imagination right away. The plot has many twists and turns to it, yet I found it interesting and easy to follow. It was also laced with humor which was important to cut the tension in places. Another reason to recommend this book is for the illustrations. The illustrator Omar Rayyan is excellent. His illustrations for this book seem to have been influenced by Lenoardo DaVinci. His drawings of imps and goblins are wonderfully horrid, but not so bad as to scare the younger reader. This is an outstanding book that children and adults will both love and it is well worth having in your collection.