Penelope Crumb

June 25, 2012
In this auspicious series launch, fourth-grader Penelope first learns that she has an oversize nose in art class. When a distraught Penelope shares this information with her mother, Penelope learns that she has the “Crumb nose” like her Grandpa Felix, who Penelope had always believed was “Graveyard Dead” like her father. This revelation, along with a school assignment to create a family coat of arms, sends Penelope on a search for her grandfather. After a few red herrings, Penelope finds Grandpa Felix and uncovers some family history. Stout (the Fiona Finkelstein books) deals with serious topics, such as the hole left in Penelope’s life by her father’s death, with a light touch, giving Penelope a memorable narrative voice full of quirks. (An aspiring artist, Penelope is “real good at telling what different kinds of faces mean,” so she fully recognizes when her mother is giving her “a look that says, We Are Not Going to Talk About This Anymore.”) Docampo contributes angular and stylized b&w images of Penelope (and her beaky schnoz) that add to the heroine’s considerable personality. Ages 7–10. Agent: Sarah Davies, Greenhouse Literary Agency.

July 1, 2012
Penelope Crumb's large nose links her to her mysterious grandfather, who, it turns out, is not Graveyard Dead. When fourth-grade artist and would-be gumshoe Penelope Crumb realizes she has a large nose, everyone, especially her older brother Terrible (really Terrence), laughs it off. How can she not have known? Her mother states that it is Penelope's late father's nose, and the girl is pleased to be linked to him. But when her mother throws out a comparison to her Grandpa Felix's honker, Penelope is surprised that her grandfather is not dead. He just has not been part of the family since Penelope's father got sick. This casual comment, and a class assignment about family stories, sends the youngest Crumb on a quest to find this mysterious Grandpa Felix. Told in a fresh, amusing first-person voice, Penelope is part adventurer (she and her best friend skip school, take trains and knock on strangers' doors in their search), part private investigator and part therapist as she tries to piece together the missing parts of her family's story. Her mother, a medical illustrator, is mostly in the background, studying and drawing and getting over her husband's death, but she succumbs to Penelope's powers by the end. Fans of Clementine and Ramona will cheer as new friend Penelope finds what she is looking for. (Fiction. 7-10)

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August 1, 2012
Grades 3-5 Like such popular fourth-grade narrators as Amber Brown and Lucy Rose, Penelope Crumb has definite ideas and big dreams. She aspires to be like Leonardo da Vincior, as she clarifies, I want to be a famous artist, too, but not a dead one. Unlike the aforementioned narrators, Penelope discovers she has a nose to match those big dreams, which becomes a major plot point when Penelope tries to find the estranged grandfather whose large nose she has inherited. The author of the Fiona Finkelstein books, Stout handles Penelope, her nose, and her relationships with friends and family with sensitivity and humor. She has Penelope make unusual choicesskipping school, going to strange neighborhoodswithout serious consequences, but, ultimately, Penelope's desires to connect with her relatives (even the 14-year-old brother who has changed so much she considers him an alien) bring the Crumb family together in a sweet and satisfying way. Docampo's illustrations nicely capture Penelope's happy distinctiveness.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)