Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Review - Fancy Nancy: The Dazzling Book Report

Fancy Nancy: The Dazzling Book Report (Fancy Nancy)
by Jane O'Connor
illustrated by Ted Enik
Date: 2009
Publisher: HarperCollins
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: library

Nancy's first book report is sure to be dazzling. After all, she is the second-best artist in her class. She is using beads, fringe, and a fancy border. And she is writing about Sacajawea, a true-life heroine. What could go wrong?

(synopsis from Goodreads)

The basic story of this one is relatable and cute. The kids in Nancy's class have to do a book report. Nancy gets all excited and decorates the cover of hers very artistically. But she spends so much time on the cover that she doesn't have enough time to write the actual report. Luckily, her teacher is understanding and asks Nancy to explain what her book was about.

I think where I'm having trouble here is with the book Nancy chose. It's about Sacajawea, and as soon as she's mentioned, we have a bit of a problem. She's called an "Indian" princess. I'm not sure what the convention is in the US, but in Canada, that term isn't really used anymore (except in legal matters). "Aboriginal" or "indigenous" are the preferred terms. It's the 21st century. Do we really need to be perpetuating Columbus's mistake?

Aside from that, I enjoyed the story. This book also has some nice "fancy" words, including "crestfallen", "desperate", and "heroine" (all defined in the glossary as well as in the text, of course).

Quotable moment:


Premise: 3/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 4/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall: 3.5 out of 5

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