Sylvie

May 18, 2009
When Sylvie, an inquisitive and impulsive young flamingo, asks her mother why they are pink, she’s told it is because they eat shrimp. This response triggers both Sylvie’s imagination and appetite. Sampling green palm leaves, purple grapes and chocolate ice cream (“She thought she’d look yummy in chocolate!”), she turns those colors. Sylvie’s nibbling become more adventurous and her transformations all the sillier: she assumes the stripes of a beach towel and the paisley print of a swimsuit. But all this wreaks havoc on her stomach. Now exhibiting various colors and patterns simultaneously, she decides to resume her shrimp diet. Sattler’s punchy text and expressive paintings convey Sylvie’s ample personality with panache (the leggy flamingo strikes bold—and rather coquettish—poses as she delights in each of the colors) against paint-smeared beachy backdrops. Though she finally decides to be true to herself, the heroine displays her spunkiness at the story’s end, as her tail duplicates the stripes of the rainbow lollipop she indulges in for dessert, leaving kids with a fittingly whimsical parting image. Ages 3–6.