MS. RUBINSTEIN’S BEAUTY

Both written and illustrated in a highly stylized, fashion-conscious way, this valentine celebrates the way true love looks beneath surface irregularities. Because she’s the Bearded Lady in a traveling circus, no one notices Ms. Rubenstein’s beautiful eyes, or “the delicate harmony of her pretty hands when they move, or the special grace that her small feet give to the way she walks.” No one, that is, until Mr. Pavlov sits next to her on a park bench. In the illustrations, two slender, elegantly dressed, gracefully posed figures obliquely take note of each other’s finer qualities, then, joining hands, stroll through the park, oblivious to the stares of passersby. Montserrat saves a surprise for the end: Mr. Pavlov too works in a circus, and that heavy striped wrap around his neck only seems to be a muffler. Adults will be charmed; children may be amused. (Picture book. 6-8)