Solid read. Seamlessly shifts between the history of the time period & the fiction. Though the author continually used modern phrases when crafting dialogue or descriptions. I wished she hadn't Definitely a 'girl' book as the only action in the book revolves around Elisabetta 's 'love' life. Per...
The Smile is not really what I expected. I thought Leonardo would be more of a main character in this story and I would have liked it better if he had been. No, this was more about a young girl falling in love and facing the fact that in her lifetime, preteens married widowers like a couple of mo...
I found the book to be fascinating and the illustrations stunning. Napoli uses art styles similar to the Grecian vases that told stories of the Greek gods, and it's like looking a way cooler Disney Hercules movie with a more realistic outlook on the stories. It's still very clean in comparison to...
Mama Miti by Donna Jo Napoli This entry was posted on March 5, 2013, in Africa, Earth Day, Education, Picture Books, Teaching and tagged bookreview #kidlit, earthday, kidlit, picture books, YA. Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment (Edit) I came across this gem during a search for books illustr...
What I really liked about this novel was the multicultural layer to the text. It really gave the relationships between the characters an extra intriguing layer. I had not learned about Sicilian prejudice in the South so this novel opened that area up for me. I thought the "love" between Calogero ...
It’s probable that Donna Jo Napoli’s books first sparked my interest in historical fiction with “Beast” being the most memorable. I am always confident when picking up a book from this author that the material is well researched – yet still suspenseful and not bogged down by someone trying too ha...
Let me sum this book up in one word:.........what?My 14-year-old sister loves fairy tales, so I buy her pretty much every fairy tale book I can get my hands on. I found Zel as well as one of Napoli's other books, Beast, at a secondhand store and let me just say that I am glad I didn't pay full pr...
It's been so many years since I've read anything by Donna Jo Napoli -- I think more than a decade -- so I was pleased to find that she still "held up" after all this time, especially since I stopped reading her because I seem to have OD'd and found her books not "doing it" for me the same way the...
In 1892, life was bleak, people were poor, and struggled every day to survive. At just 9 years-old, Dom was living in Italy with his family...a family who adored him, cared for him, and wanted only the best for him. His mother was his world. But, for whatever reason, Dom's mother thought it best ...
Full Review: http://kendramerritt.com/the-blurred-...A good book makes me feel the whole gamut of emotions: joy, sorrow, anger, frustration, and shock. A great book does all that, but it also keeps me thinking long after I’ve turned the last past. Breath didn’t have the most engaging plotline or ...
Overall, I thought the Daughter of Venice was an ok book! it wasn't the best but not the worst.The main character Donata, receives no education, can never be out of her parents eye sight, and is the oldest daughter of a noble family in Venice, Italy. She has 4 sisters and 7 brothers. She has ve...