Ooh la la!
I confessed to my book spree on yesterday. There was absolutely no getting round that we were going to have to get the newest Jane O’Connor Fancy Nancy book. My daughters are solidly Fancy Nancy fans.
The idea behind the Fancy Nancy books is that Nancy is the only posh person in her family (posh is a fancy word for fancy). She looks for the fancy things in life - whether clothes, food or, as in this latest book, a dog. Nancy’s parents have decided that she can have a dog. She wants a papillon. Her family isn’t so sure.
In the end, Nancy gets her fancy dog. And it’s the perfect dog for her. As to whether it’s the papillon - hey, I have to leave you something, right?
The story is great. I’ve been forced to read it no fewer than ten times in 24 hours and I don’t hate it yet. If you’re a parent, you absolutely know what I mean. Bad children’s books grate on your nerves immediately.
Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy is beautifully illustrated. Just like its namesake, the book is fancy. Lots of pinks and purples to keep it appealing to the toddler set without being overly girly. Nancy’s family is not fancy so there’s not too much fancy going on…
The story flows with no insipid rhymes or goofy dialogue. Nancy’s conversations are a bit posh, but the other folks in the story talk as though you’d expect them to. O’Connor’s asides to explain the fancy language are the highlight of the book.
Fancy Nancy is a hardback which means I had to shell out $17 for a toddler book. That’s expensive (expensive is a fancy word for costs a lot). But my girls love it. It’s worth it.
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