Frosty is a Stupid Name. Troy Wilson. Illustrated by Dean Griffiths. Victoria, BC: Orca, 2005. 32 pp., cloth, $19.95. ISBN 1-55143-382-6. Preschool-grade 3 / Ages 4-8. Review by Helen Norrie. **** /4 Reviewed from f&g’s.

excerpt:

Frosty is a stupid name for a snowman.
At least that's what Jenny thinks.
It's like naming a dog Furry.

Or naming a fish Wetty.
Or naming a slug Slimy.
Jenny won't settle for just any stupid name.

Jenny is a little girl with a great imagination. She makes a wonderful snowman, and, as the excerpt indicates, she decides to name him Bartholomew. Then she imagines they travel "through forests of cotton candy", "along rivers of chocolate" to a royal palace where Jenny eats jelly bean soup and Bartholomew dances with the queen. But then Jenny wonders if he is really enjoying himself. Perhaps snowmen don't have an imagination? Possibly Bartholomew likes simpler things? She determines to give him one special day. She feeds him peanut butter sandwiches, dresses him in all her dad's old clothes and reads him stories at bedtime. She knows he's going to melt, "but she doesn't tell him that. There's no point in giving him nightmares."

     As a winter day picture book, Frosty is a Stupid Name is refreshingly different as it is both imaginative and realistic. Jenny's fantastic daydreams will delight young readers while her concern for Bartholomew's feelings shows a touch of real compassion. Victoria, BC, author Troy Wilson has managed to give Jenny both personality and character, quite a feat for a picture book. Wilson is also the author of Perfect Man (Orca, 2004).

     The illustrations are done in watercolour by Dean Griffiths of Duncan, BC. He has set Jenny's home in a trailer park, and Jenny has that muffled up look of any kid who is dressed for the outdoors in Canada. The pictures are big, bold, and amusing. This is a book that will be enjoyed by pre-school and beginning readers and may tempt a few to get out and make a snowman of their own.

Highly Recommended.

Helen Norrie is a former teacher-librarian who has taught courses in children's literature in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.

Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

Hosted by the University of Manitoba.

 

NEXT REVIEW |TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THIS ISSUE - September 16, 2005.

AUTHORS | TITLES | MEDIA REVIEWS | PROFILES | BACK ISSUES | SEARCH | CMARCHIVE | HOME