Miss Dorothy-Jane Was Ever So Vain by Julie Fulton and Jona Jung
| Miss Dorothy-Jane Was Ever So Vain by Julie Fulton and Jona Jung | |
|
| |
| Category: For Sharing | |
| |
Reviewer: Zoe Morris
 | |
| Summary: A pretty lady has to choose between looking smart and being kind in this lively and sweet rhyming tale. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 32 | Date: September 2013 |
| Publisher: Maverick Arts Publishing | |
| ISBN: 978-1848861060 | |
|
Share on: | |
|
| |
Miss Dorothy-Jane is very much obsessed with her appearance, so when she sees there’s a competition to find Hamilton Shady’s best lady she just has to enter! She spends ever such a long time perfecting her look but on the way to the contest, disaster strikes. Will she realise that there’s more to life than looks, and sacrifice her chance to win a meet and greet with the Queen (yes, her Majesty!)? Can she do the right thing, even if she gets all dirty and dishevelled in the process? I’m sure you can guess the outcome, but the final ending was a surprise, even for me. A nice surprise, I should add.
Part of the Ever so series which also includes the lively characters Tabitha Posy and Mrs MacCready, this is a lovely book for sharing with little ones. The message is clear and I love the looks on the faces of Dorothy-Jane’s neighbours as she swans around the town. She imagines they’re thinking what a lovely lady she is. They clearly aren’t.
Told in rhyme, this is another one that’s simply perfect for reading aloud. There’s a bit of a hint of Dr Seuss to it, and this is noted in the author blurb which tells us she’s inspired by his work.
Just one note about the illustrations. They are bright (good!) and bold (excellent!) and very appealing except for the slightly odd cleavage of Miss Dorothy Jane. Maybe it’s my jaded adult eyes, but to me I kept mistaking the crevice for a nip slip, and doing a double take. She’s also a clichéd ‘pretty lady’, so big boobs, small waist, perfect hourglass thing going on. She pretty much is the best looking resident of Hamilton Shady – the others seem quite drab in comparison. For a book aimed at this age it doesn’t really matter, but I couldn’t help but think their idea of a perfect figure would be hard to achieve without a bit of help from the surgeon.
Soapbox aside, this really is a cute little book that I’m sure will be a hit. The language is spot on, and there’s a nice story packed into a few short pages, with extra details coming in from the pictures.
I’d like to thank the publishers for sending us this Ever So book. We Ever So liked it.
For more fun rhymes, see Where's Tim's Ted? It's Time for Bed! by Ian Whybrow and Russell Ayto
Please share on: 
Facebook, 
Twitter and
Instagram
You can read more book reviews or buy Miss Dorothy-Jane Was Ever So Vain by Julie Fulton and Jona Jung at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Miss Dorothy-Jane Was Ever So Vain by Julie Fulton and Jona Jung at Amazon.com.
Comments
Like to comment on this review?
Just send us an email and we'll put the best up on the site.
