Charlotte in Paris

September 1, 2003
Let the adventures continue! In the sequel to Charlotte in Giverny, a girl's journal records her visit to the City of Light in Charlotte in Paris by Joan MacPhail Knight, illus. by Melissa Sweet. The daughter of American artists living in France, Charlotte sees a marionette show in the Tuileries, visits the Louvre, attends an Impressionist art exhibition and celebrates her birthday at the Eiffel Tower. With reproductions of famous works by Monet, Degas, Cassatt and more, as well as watercolors by Sweet, this scrapbook celebrates the art and artists in France in the 1890s.

January 1, 2004
Gr 2-4-The fictional young American diarist of Charlotte in Giverny (Chronicle, 2000) spends part of 1893 with her artist parents in Paris, visiting the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, and Tuileries gardens, among other sights. Her journal chronicles a friendship with Julie Manet and recalls neighborhood gossips who give personal details about such artists as Cassatt, Degas, Renoir, and Rodin, 14 of whom are profiled at the book's end. The narrative is breathless and chock-full of incidental characters, including every dog Charlotte meets. Sweet's delicate watercolors of details like "les parapluies" and "la citronnade" represent the protagonist's paintings and fully balance the fine-art reproductions that appear throughout. Readers are also treated to the girl's journal collectibles, such as a peacock feather, a recipe for cherry "Clafoutis," and postcards of the fair city. This enchanting episode in Charlotte's life introduces Paris, gardening, and an exciting period in the art world.-Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA

Copyright 2003 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2003
Gr. 3-6. Readers first met this delightful heroine in "Charlotte in Giverny" (2000), when her father moved there to study painting "en plein air "with the impressionists. Now Charlotte has an opportunity to live in Paris for six months while Papa studies at the Academie Julian with his friend Maurice Prendergast. Charlotte loves the lights of Paris, the shops and markets and fashions. She sees Mary Cassatt's exhibition, goes to the opera and out to eat, and writes of all her adventures in her journal. Charlotte's Giverny neighbor Monet has a role to play, even in Paris. As with the earlier book, reproductions of paintings, small watercolors, collages of objects Charlotte has saved, and a certain amount of French vocabulary adorn the utterly engaging text. Biographies of the painters, painting credits, and an author's note round out this charming offering. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)