MOI AND MARIE ANTOINETTE
by Lynn Cullen & illustrated by Amy Young
Such resolute cutesiness can have a dreary effect, which, alas, is true in this view of the doomed French queen as observed by her pug dog. What happened to Marie Antoinette at the guillotine appears only in the author’s note: Sébastian the pug, who refers to himself as moi like Miss Piggy does, accompanies the 14-year-old royal from Austria to France, where she is married to the king’s grandson. The dog, mostly ignored, isn’t happy until Marie Antoinette’s daughter Thérèse is of an age to play, when the now-queen has borne a second child. Versailles is not cozy for children or dogs, and visions of the queen’s sumptuous raiment and impossible hairdos contrast with Thérèse in the mirrored halls holding the dog or running in the gardens in parallel to her mother’s childhood days. Gouache in matte pastel colors illustrate this lighthearted image of Versailles populated by figures with rosebud mouths and doll-like features. Will appeal to those who love princess stories and can understand that money, jewels and fancy clothes don’t necessarily bring happiness. (Picture book. 5-8)