Janet Morgan Stoeke
1 Minerva: Goddess of wisdom
It's never a good idea to begin a review of one book by lambasting a completely different book. But then, I'm not too keen on good ideas. When I look at the beautiful beautiful book that is, "Minerva Louise", I am astonished by its simplicity. It's fabulous how with only a few well chosen lines, author/illustrator Janet Morgan Stoeke is able to create something as perfect as this little book. Compare this with other awful and simplistic books ("Where's Spot?" anyone?) and this becomes even more of a monumental accomplishment than it originally appeared.
The story's just as simple as the pictures. One day the sweet chicken Minerva Louise (who greatly admires the farmhouse) decides that it might be a good idea if she poked her head in and looked around. Once inside she gathers all sorts of odd ideas. A flowerpot of daisies is reduced to flattened flowers when Minerva takes it for a comfortable chair. The sleeping cat? A friendly cow, of course. In her barnyard-mindedness a tricycle is a tractor and a flower coverlet on a bed is a meadow. After further examinations (and unintentional chicken mischief) Minerva decides that she would prefer to live in the yard but that she'll visit the house. In a final panel, Minerva sits contentedly on a pie on the windowsill, "because she loved the house with the red curtains".
And I love Minerva. There just aren't enough worthy chicken protagonists in picture books today. Moreover, there aren't enough picture books that tell a straightforward story with the wit and storytelling skills found in this little marvel. I know I'm gushing over this thing, but it's one of those books you need to see firsthand to understand. Minerva's so amiable that if she was your chicken I'm sure you'd bake pies with the sole purpose of letting her sit on them. This is a very early reader book, and it will make a much loved addition to any child laden home. If I could recommend a single picture book published in the last 20 years with all my heart and soul, it would be the sweet, "Minerva Louise". Miss it, and you're missing out.
2 the best picture book in the universe
Minerva Louise is the chicken version of Amelia Bedelia, and ideal for the youngest children -- the art is bright and bold, the humor very obvious and accessible.
