Review - Fancy Nancy at the Museum

Fancy Nancy at the Museum (Fancy Nancy)
by Jane O'Connor
illustrated by Ted Enik
Date: 2008
Publisher: HarperCollins
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: library

Nancy's class is going on a fancy trip to the museum. A bumpy bus ride leaves Nancy feeling not-so-fancy, but Miss Glass saves the day, leaving Nancy as fancy as ever!

(synopsis from Goodreads)

It's no wonder Nancy loves her teacher. Ms. Glass gives her preferential treatment that we never see her give to any of the other kids!

This book really should be titled Fancy Nancy Barfs on the Bus, because that's really what it's all about. The kids go on a field trip to a museum on a bumpy bus. Bree feels sick so she doesn't want to eat her lunch. Nancy eats both of their lunches, and then proceeds to get sick before they even reach their destination. Because being covered in vomit isn't very "fancy", the teacher lets Nancy wear her tunic and beret. The actual part at the museum is very short. We learn terms like "masterpiece" and "portrait", and a couple of adults stroke Nancy's ego. So... this definitely isn't a favourite.

This appears to be one of the earlier I Can Read! titles, and though it's illustrated by Ted Enik (as are some of my favourite titles in the Fancy Nancy series), it almost looks like it was done by a completely different artist. Maybe Enik hadn't quite found his groove yet. But Nancy at times looks stoned, bloated, and even drunk, a far cry from her usual cute self.

I would've rather seen more emphasis on the museum (it played so little role in the story, despite the title) and less on Nancy's teacher trying to fix her mistake. In other words: less barfing, more art.

I wouldn't recommend this one, except to fans of the series.

Premise: 2/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 2/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall: 2.67 out of 5