THE LONG WHITE SCARF

A fictional tale about a scarf that was never owned by Queen Victoria. The young princess loses the scarf that’s “soft and white as a silky cloud” (what does that mean, anyway?) and embroidered with her initial “V,” when it’s blown from the royal carriage on a windy day. A man finds it in the river, and brings it home for his daughter. She cherishes it and gives it to her brother as a talisman when he goes off to war, where it serves as a sling when his arm is broken. The scarf escapes again when wrapped around a newborn infant, and is sold in a curiosity shop to a child and her grandmother, who present it to Queen Victoria on her Golden Jubilee, celebrating 50 years’ rule. Though the pictures are rich in color and detail, with a rosy Victorian glow, the text is a little too awkward in phrasing and oddly imagined to be a crowd-pleaser. (historical note) (Picture book. 6-9)