Maya's World

September 6, 2004
"Let me tell you about my friend Angelina," writes Angelou at the start of this minimal, clichéd story, one of four launching the Maya's World paperback series starring children from various countries. Angelina, who lives in Italy, is so enamored of pizza that her older sister calls her "Patty Pizza." When one night at dinner her uncle tells the story of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the girl envisions "a tower made of delicious, saucy pizza pies rising as tall as the church steeple down the street" and is chagrined to think that, if it fell over, "no one would ever have a chance to eat it! Especially her!" When she fails to believe her mother's assertion that the tower is not made of pizza ("Don't worry, darlinghissima," she tells Angelina), the family drives to Pisa. There—with "big tears rolling down cheeks"—Angelina dashes past a guard and under the ropes to get a closer look at the structure. With relief, she discovers, "There wasn't a piece of pepperoni or drippy mozzarella in sight!" In the tale's predictably contrived ending, Angelina earns "a great big pizza pie with everything!" Though cheerful, Rockwell's spare illustrations are as one-dimensional as the narrative. Unfortunately, neither will satiate the appetites of youngsters hungry for information about a child from another culture. Ages 4-8.

November 15, 2004
PreS. Each book in Angelou's Maya's World series tells the story of "a little friend from a different nation." In this one, Angelina, who is Italian, is blissfully happy in her big, extended family. Pizza is her favorite food, so when she hears about the Leaning Tower of Pisa, she imagines a leaning tower of delicious, saucy pizza pies. What if the tower fell over? No one would ever have a chance to eat that great food! The prose is saccharine and condescending, with at least one exclamation point per page, and most preschoolers won't get the pun until adults explain it. Even so, Rockwell's clear, cheerful pictures will appeal to kids (especially the image of those teetering pizzas piled high), as will the celebration of food and family.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)