Elsie Times Eight - Hardcover

Elsie's well-meaning fairy godmother is a little hard of hearing. When her mama reports that Elsie has been a much better girl than "before," her fairy godmother hears it as a request that Elsie "be four," and with a wave of her magic wand, multiplies the girl. "No! WAIT!" cries Elsie's papa only making things worse, as Elsie's fairy godmother hears "eight" and promptly complies. Soon even the mayor complains about the "rowdydow and racket" from the octet of Elsies and, when all else fails, banishes the family. All is set to rights in the end, of course (Elsie's cat pinpoints the original heroine; but then the fairy godmother makes the feline "twenty" when Papa says "plenty"). Babbitt's (Bub) merry tale of magical mix-up and mayhem unfolds without a hitch; however, the illustrations fare somewhat less favorably. With characters dressed in vaguely medieval garb, the watercolor and pencil artwork takes on a deliberateness that borders on the pedestrian. While some of the characters are expressive (including a hilarious baby, goggle-eyed in surprise at the sudden bounty of Elsies), others appear oddly flat, creating an overall visual effect that detracts from the narrative's strengths. All ages.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Ages 4-7. Elsie's fairy godmother has a hearing problem, so when Elsie's mother relates that Elsie "didn't always do the things she did before," the godmother hears "Elsie should be four" and promptly clones four more Elsie. Another misunderstanding leads to eight Elsies. This is an unhappy surprise for Elsie and her parents. Eight Elsies can't share one cat, one bed, or one book. There's so much tumult that the mayor asks the family to leave town. The fairy godmother eventually is found and reverses the spell--but which Elsie is the original? Only the cat knows for sure. Then the fairy godmother makes another mistake and multiplies the cats. The concept is slight, and the original misunderstanding is labored. Yet Babbitt tells her story energetically; the story is also a bit edgy, a la the Sorcerer's Apprentice. Her ink-and-watercolor art, though stiff in places, has some delightful moments, especially when the Elsies and the cats crowd the pages. The fairy godmother is special, too, with her Tiffany-glass wings and Afro distinctively juxtaposed against a storybook setting. Ilene Cooper
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