25 out of 25 people found this review helpful.
Fancy Nancy is a Delightful Read, Especially for Little Girls Who Love to Dress Up
Date of Review: Apr 23, 2008
The Bottom Line: I highly recommend this book for little girls can relate to Nancy and her love of dressing up.
Fancy Nancy is a hilarious, 31 page picture book about a little girl named Nancy who loves to dress up fancy. This book is aimed for preschoolers through early elementary and especially for little girls who love to dress up.
Fancy Nancy is written by Jane O'Connor and illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser. This is the first book in a series about the main character, Fancy Nancy.
The Story
Fancy Nancy is a little girl of about 6 or 7 years old, who always wears fun things like tiaras, sparkles, ribbons, jewelry, and dress up clothes and who likes to call things by their French names. One day, she decides to teach her plain family how to be fancy. After she dresses them all up, the family goes out for a fancy dinner. At dinner, Fancy Nancy trips over one of her ribbons, while carrying dessert parfaits, and gets ice cream all over her. The story ends with the family back at home wearing normal clothes and sharing ice cream. As her parents tuck Fancy Nancy into bed, her parents tell her that she is loved and she replies that she loves them too.
The Illustrations
My daughter and I love the color illustrations in this book. Not only are they darling, but they add a lot of humor to the story. We especially love the before and after pictures of Fancy Nancy's bedroom of when it was plain and then decorated. We also love the details in the drawings such as the crazy things Fancy Nancy wears.
Our Experience
My 4 ? year old daughter loves to dress up so she immediately related to Fancy Nancy. Plus, just like Nancy, my daughter loves to wear her dress up clothes in public. This book is quite amusing and my daughter will often laugh at the illustrations. She loves to comment on what Fancy Nancy is wearing and has even tried to mimic some of her outfits.
As a parent, I love the innocent fun in this book and that it portrays a loving family. I also love the message that the parents love Nancy when she is dressed up fancy and when she is dressed up normally.
We originally checked this book out of the library. Since it was so well loved, we bought a hard cover version at a used book store. Brand new, it goes for $15.99
Final Thoughts
As a former reading teacher, I look for engaging stories and illustrations that will spark my daughter's imagination and inspire her to read. Fancy Nancy is a beloved main character and this book is a delight to read. I highly recommend.
Thanks for reading.
