PRETTY PRETTY PEGGY MOFFITT

by William Pene du Bois ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 10, 1968

Pretty pretty girl"" are the first words she hears and the first words she speaks; and ""pretty pretty girl"" is the only thing she sees from the day her mother first presents her with a mirror which makes for some bad bumps in between. Even her alphabet book is bifurcated in a way that boosts her vanity: one way it has all the pretty animals from Antelope to Zebra, upside down it has all the ugly animals from Aardvark to Zebu. And this, of course, is the way Pretty Pretty Peggy Moffitt thinks of the children when she goes to school. Which is something of a trial because, besides the Warthogs et al. in the classroom and the need to learn the alphabet as letters, there's the certainty of more bumps and spills from following herself in the glass of buildings and cars and losing her footing in the blanks between. After a staggering performance as Sleeping Beauty, she gets the chance for a screen test she's been priming for then muffs it because falling down a coal chute has left her black and blue. For the first time, she walks home without looking at herself-- ""And if I did it once, I can do it again!"" ""Peggy Moffit did grow up to be one of the very few internationally famous models"" says the jacket, with photos, and there's a note inside that ""Miss Moffitt's clothes (are) designed, as usual, by RUDI GERNREICH."" That about labels the book, a stylish put-on for preteens.

Pub Date: April 10, 1968

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harper & Row

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1968

Categories: FICTION