Eugenio [Hardcover]

Marianne Cockenpot (Author), Lorenzo Mattotti (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up

Abandoned by his poverty-stricken parents, Eugenio is taken in by kindly circus folk and grows up to become the most popular clown at the circus.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Packed with the wisdom of folklore, this impressive, oversize picture book pulsates between laughter and sadness, sunlight and shadow. A magician discovers baby Eugenio outside his circus trailer and, over the years, transforms him into "the one, the only, the fabulous clown" who brings delight to others wherever he goes. But something is missing from Eugenio's life, and he asks his circus friends for advice. Finally Madame Cobra sees "his past repeating itself" and counsels him to return home, predicting that a surprise will await him. Debut author Cockenpot warmly unfolds Eugenio's plight, spiking her text with wordplay (" 'Why, you're all twisted up,' said Mash-Mish, the contortionist"). Mattotti's spectacular artwork dazzles with its bold use of color, capturing the excited air of the big top. His figures form pleasing, almost sensuous shapes, curving against a backdrop of billowing velvets and canvases until they appear as figures in dreamscapes. He locates the darkness in this tale as well as its mirth, expressing its sadness in deft use of black tones and in swirling thunder clouds. The sophistication of Mattotti's childlike art emphasizes the powerful undercurrents of Cockenpot's story. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2-A beautiful couple, too poor to care for their infant, leave him on the doorstep of a circus magician, and he grows up to become the famous clown, Eugenio. One day, when he is too sad to perform, his friend Madame Cobra tells him to go home, where he will discover what is missing in his life. There he finds an abandoned infant, history repeating itself. Mattotti's illustrations, done with what appear to be oil crayons, are thickly colored and full of distorted, exaggerated figures. They have the look of benign delirium, and overwhelm the bland, somewhat condescending story. The author begins by saying the lesson of the story never changes. If she means that people need someone special to love, the double abandonment is both improbable and disturbing enough to obscure that message for most children.
Karen James, Louisville Free Public Library, KY
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 25 pages
• Publisher: Little Brown & Co (Juv); 1st edition (May 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316149225
• ISBN-13: 978-0316149228
• Product Dimensions: 13 x 8.8 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,816,340 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)