Violet Mackerel's Brilliant Plot

July 1, 2012
A collection of small things and a generous gesture win Violet Mackerel the Blue China Bird she's admired for weeks at the Saturday-morning market. While her mother and sister sell their crafts and her brother plays the violin, Violet has time to visit the other vendors--especially the seller of china birds--and to plot, imagining ways to earn the $10 she needs to buy her favorite. Thinking "outside the box" as her mother advises, she experiences a series of failures. But in the box of her mother's knitting disasters she finds something she can transform into a desirable, sellable object. The gentle, present-tense narration reflects the thinking of an imaginative and quite determined 7-year-old, following the model of elders who envision goals and work toward them. She's not always realistic about her own abilities. Her theory of the importance of small things mirrors the series of small moments that make the story. First published in Australia, where it was a Children's Book of the Year Honour Book and followed by three sequels, this title has been slightly edited and re-illustrated for its U.S. edition. Allen's grayscale drawings enliven almost every page. (Final art not seen.) Violet and her family are original and appealing, a lovely addition to any chapter-book collection of characters. (Fiction. 5-9)

COPYRIGHT(2012) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

December 1, 2012

Gr 1-3-Every Saturday seven-year-old Violet Mackerel accompanies her mother, sister, and brother to the local market where her mother tries to sell her knitted goods. When she covets a special blue china bird but does not have 10 dollars to pay for it; she needs to concoct a brilliant plan to come up with the money. Can she try digging in her backyard to unearth ancient dinosaur bones? Will she be able to think of something she can knit and sell? This is a sweet story about a likable little girl who just longs for something small. While Violet is still a unique character, she is much more subdued than Judy Moody or Junie B. Jones, and there is definitely an audience for a quiet but creative heroine. Black-and-white drawings, some full page, add touches of whimsy and humor. A charming easy reader that also serves as a thoughtful, gentle read-aloud.-Elizabeth Swistock, Jefferson Madison Regional Library, VA

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.