Review - Fancy Nancy and the Fabulous Fashion Boutique

Fancy Nancy and the Fabulous Fashion Boutique (Fancy Nancy)
by Jane O'Connor
illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser
Date: 2010
Publisher: HarperCollins
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: hardcover
Source: library

Welcome to Fancy Nancy's Fabulous Fashion Boutique! Here you can find the fanciest almost-new outfits, accessories, jewelry, and lots more. There's even a necklace with real rhinestones for sale. Ooh la la!

The fashion boutique is a huge success, but it's also Nancy's little sister's birthday. And when it starts to rain, her birthday party might be ruined. Nancy knows she has to come up with an idea—a brilliant one—and fast.

In this très chic story, Nancy shows once again that sometimes all you need is a little improvising to turn a fiasco into something fancy.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

When I saw the title of this one, I was skeptical. Would it be a frivolous, superficial celebration of all things fancy? I should've given the author a little more credit. Fancy Nancy and the Fabulous Fashion Boutique is actually an adorable story about family and love.

When Nancy is out shopping for supplies for JoJo's birthday party, she comes across a lace fan that she just has to have. The only problem is, she doesn't have enough money. So she decides to have a Fabulous Fashion Boutique to sell some of her old stuff to raise enough money to buy her fan.

JoJo takes a fancy to an old rhinestone necklace and desperately wants to buy it, but she doesn't have enough money. So Nancy sells it to her friend Wanda instead. But when JoJo catches Nancy wrapping her present and excitedly asks, "Is it the necklace?" Nancy realizes that her sister is going to be crushed. So she sacrifices her hard-earned money to get the necklace back from Wanda.

Nancy's dad tells her what a great big sister she is, and I agree. I couldn't help but think of another picture book heroine who's around the same age: Junie B. Jones. That kid is so selfish she'd never even think of doing something like that! This is one of the reasons I love Nancy. She may be young, but she's obviously had good parenting. She knows how to be kind, even to her little sister who can sometimes be a pain.

I would definitely recommend this installment in the Fancy Nancy series. The illustrations are adorable, as always, and the message is too good to pass up.

Premise: 4/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 4/5
Illustrations: 4/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall: 4 out of 5