My Name is Not Isabella

August 16, 2010
In this picture book, first published
by Monkey Barrel Press in 2008, young Isabella isn't having an identity crisis—she's having an identity field day. When her mother greets her good morning, she responds with the book's title (and its refrain), adding, "I am Sally , the greatest, toughest, astronaut who ever was!" Throughout the day, Isabella assumes the roles of other "greatest" heroines: breakfast prompts an Annie Oakley reverie; a school bus ride puts her in the shoes of Rosa Parks. Litwin overworks the fuzzy, staticky textures of his mixed-
media illustrations to the point of distraction, and it's a little disappointing that none of debut author Fosberry's role models is of especially recent vintage—Marie Curie and Elizabeth Blackwell appear as her science and medicine superwomen. But the exuberance of the text and typography, coupled with Isabella's force of personality, ensures that the pages fly along, largely and blessedly free of the earnestness that plagues so many "girls can do anything" books. Ages 3–8.