Nancy No-Size [Hardcover]

Mary Hoffman (Author), Jennifer Northway (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In a well-rounded plot, the collaboration of Hoffman and Northway has resulted in a truly unified marriage of text and pictures. Nancy isn't old enough to read her older sister's books or young enough for her baby sister's toys. She's also not big enough for a bike and not small enough for a rocking horse; not very tall or very short; not first and not last; but in sort of a no-kids' land. And she's had it. But just as she is ready to assert herself, her parents announce "Happy Birthday" in honor of her fifth year. Northway's interpretation of the text complements and enhances the meaning of the words on the page: in a friendly urban neighborhood, kids are playing, and Nancy is taken upstairs to change, bathe and prepare for her birthday celebration. The successive realistic scenes from the life of a middle-class black family are all in ice-cream colors with the familiar shapes and objects of a warm and secure environment. Ages 4-7.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1Nancy is the middle child: too young to read her older sister's books, but too old to play with her baby sister's toys; too short for the top bunk, but too tall for last year's tights; neither dark like her older sister, nor fair like the baby. She finds this situation frus trating to the point of rage. Just as she's about to explode, however, the activi ties which have been used to illustrate her plight (bathing, picking up, etc.) turn out to be preparations for her fifth birthday party, and she discovers that the negatives can be positives: she is both old and young; big and small; with her own shape, color, and place in her family. As the book closes, she's off to school with children her age. The text contains a pleasing symmetry of lan guage and structure, and is illustrated with action-packed pastel drawings of a cozy, middle-class black family in a mixed neighborhood. The sentiments are hardly original, but the illustrations are effectively integrated into the text of the story, and the result is entertain ing and effective, if not particularly dis tinguished.Christine Behrmann, New York Public Library
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 28 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (September 24, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195205960
• ISBN-13: 978-0195205961
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,359,500 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars An Engaging Read, August 7, 2009

By 

WALTRINA KIRKLAND-MULLINS "waltrinam" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nancy No-Size (Paperback)

It is unfortunate that an enormous number of this--one of Mary Hoffman's earlier works--is not in stock. NANCY NO SIZE is an engaging book for emergent readers--particularly for the middle child or a little one off to Pre-School or Kindergarten for the first time. The repetitive pattern and rhythmic nature of this story draws the reader in. NANCY NO SIZE is a celebration of family, relationships, and self-discovery. It too brings in a literacy empowerment component, exposing young readers to antonyms and compare/contrast strategies. If you can purchase a copy, hold on to it, and watch the fun begin when you share it with young readers!