FANCY THAT

Using made-from-scratch egg tempera for authenticity, Lloyd alternates expertly done American folk-art-style portraits with more finely detailed, richly colored landscapes for this tale of an orphaned 19th-century lad who takes to the road with his father’s art supplies, promising his three sisters that he’ll be back by Christmas with money for a new home. Confidence turns to despair, however, as portrait after portrait, each depicting ill-favored adults and cranky children with devastating accuracy, is indignantly rejected by prospective customers. Observant viewers will cotton to what’s going on, but the clueless, overly honest lad never does. Discouraged and penniless, he returns for Christmas—to find his sisters not in the alms-house as expected, but waiting for him in a snug cabin paid for by the holiday wreaths they’ve been industriously weaving in his absence. Told with engagingly rhythmic language and the repeating structure of a folktale, this tongue-in-cheek piece of Americana will delight a wide range of readers and listeners. (author’s note, illustrator note) (Picture book. 6-10)