Natalie & Naughtily [Hardcover]

Vincent X. Kirsch (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 16, 2008 | Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

Natalie and Naughtily Nopps live in a house on top of a big department store. Natalie loves visiting every floor from top to bottom! Naughtily? From bottom to top! One day the girls receive a note from their parents asking them NOT to play in the store that day!

“Today we shall go to the store to help!” they agree.

Evening gowns are on two, perfume and hats on three, coats on four . . . and on every floor there are customers galore. But will the girls really be any help? Vincent X. Kirsch has created a splendid world for Natalie and Naughtily, in which every vividly detailed floor in the store has its own magnificent hue. Readers will be enchanted by these two impish sisters, their very good intentions, and most of all by the hijinks and adventures they effortlessly conjure up in one very busy day!

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Vincent Kirsch creates beautiful, detailed illustrations for Natalie & Naughtily, a story about two little girls who love rainy days almost as much as they love exploring their family's department store. When mother asks the girls not to play in the store, they decide to help instead. (Click on any image to enlarge).

Follow Natalie & Naughtily on their adventures.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3—Twins Natalie and Naughtily live in a house on top of Nopps, the world's greatest department store. Though they are supposed to stay out of the way on busy shopping days, they decide to go downstairs to see if they can assist the customers. Natalie appears conservative in her blue skirt and matching hair ribbon. Naughtily is a free spirit, wearing fairy wings, a clown nose, and high-top sneakers. Floors one through nine are each depicted on a two-page painting rich in whimsical detail. The story is well paced as most pages end with the girls heading to the next floor up, seeking another way to help out. On the fourth floor, for example, there's a sale on leftover winter wear: Natalie sells "two coats for the price of one," while Naughtily sells "one coat for the price of two." Kirsch's watercolor and graphite illustrations are a balance of bright, lively hues and dreary gray tones. The book ends with a list of Natalie's favorite things floor by floor, which are actually hidden in the preceding pages. Fans of O'Connor's Fancy Nancy (HarperCollins) will delight in the humor and mischief found within Nopps.—Lisa Glasscock, Columbine Public Library, Littleton, CO
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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens; First Edition edition (September 16, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1599902699
• ISBN-13: 978-1599902692
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 10 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,102,266 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Vincent X. Kirsch is an artist, designer, toymaker and writer of books, film and television projects for people of all ages.

Mr. Kirsch's first picture book Natalie & Naughtily was published in the fall of 2008 by BloomsburyUSA Publishing. The book was selected for the 2008 Original Art Show at the Society of Illustrators in New York City.
He has subsequently completed two additional titles:
Two Little Boys From Toolittle Toys / BloomsburyUSA / Spring 2010
Forsythia & Me / Farrar Straus Giroux / Winter 2011
The Chandeliers / Farrar Straus Giroux / Winter 2012

Mr. Kirsch got his start in advertising agencies specializing in Broadway and film accounts. He had been involved in things theatrical since his youth. He had minored in scenic design and filmmaking at Syracuse University. His scenic design work lead him the stages of the Williamstown Theatre Festival where he became an artist-in-residence under the nurturing gaze of Nikos Psacharapoulos. He designed sets and posters for seven summer seasons of the productions there.

At the same time he was designing and illustrating book jackets for such authors as Joyce Carol Oates, Luigi Barzini and F. Scott Fitzgerald. An accidental spilling of India ink on scratchboard resulted in a completely unusual, original black and white illustration style. The black and white, as well as color work, has continued to appear regularly on the pages of The New York Times Book Review & Op-Ed pages, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times and a wide array of magazines.

Coincidentally, the work on the Op-Ed page of The New York Times landed Mr. Kirsch a three-year job designing and directing the windows of Bergdorf Goodman on Fifth Avenue. His work with mannequins and small window spaces lead to the creation of three-dimensional characters and revived a fascination with puppetry and Victorian toy theaters.

He has worked and experimented on these projects steadily since leaving Bergdorf Goodman in the mid-nineties. For three years, Mr. Kirsch was Visual Merchandising Director for Dean & Deluca, overseeing the merchandising and branding for all the stores in North America.

Mr. Kirsch currently lives in Brooklyn Heights.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A SMILE PROVOKING SISTER ACT, September 17, 2008

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Natalie & Naughtily (Hardcover)

Natalie and Naughtily are sisters, the Nopps sisters, who live in a house on the top of Nopps famous department store. Now, Naughtily may not be the quite an accurate name for Naughtily as she's not really naughty. It's simply that she has her own way of doing things - if Natalie wants to go one way, Naughtily wants to go another, if Natalie wants to play on every floor from top to bottom, Naughtily want to play from bottom to top.

Their favorite days are rainy days because those are the only days they're allowed to play in the store. Imagine what a playground a huge department store complete with elevators, escalators, and a floor full of toys would be!

On one rainy day the girls received a note from their parents saying that it would help very much if they did not come to the store that day as it was going to be especially busy.

"Help" was the key word to the sisters and they decided to go to the store to help.

Young readers will find out exactly what kind of help they provided in this whimsical, smile provoking book by Vincent X. Kirsch. Full page, detailed watercolor and colored pencil drawings are delightful.

- Gail Cooke

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Instant Classic, September 30, 2008

By 

Jeffrey R. Criddle (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Natalie & Naughtily (Hardcover)

Natalie and Naughtily Nopps are two of the cutest, most original characters ever to grace the pages of a childrens picture book. A charming story about two wonderful little girls you can't help but fall in love with. The illustrations alone will leave you breathless. With every page Vincent X. Kirsch brings to life the fascination and awe a child can find in a deluxe department store. A perfect gift. Kids will love to read this story over and over again. Mr. Kirsch's book is certain to become an instant classic.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Three Silly Chicks Review, November 15, 2008

By 

Three Silly Chicks "www.ThreeSillyChicks.com" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Natalie & Naughtily (Hardcover)

After reading Natalie and Naughtily, the Three Silly Chicks immediately wanted to adopt these two charming girls. Or rather, we wanted them to adopt us. You see, the Nopps sisters live in a house on top of "the greatest department store in the world." And it truly is a fabulously grand store, filled with chandeliers and toys and potted plants and fussy customers and toys and little dogs and foofy hats and the rarest of rarities...oh, and did we mention toys? The toy floor alone is enough to make Santa's elves turn holly green with envy.

On one very busy day, Natalie & Naughtily are kindly asked by their parents not to play in the store. So the intrepid girls decide that they will "help" instead. As the girls go from floor to floor finding ways to help -- such as spritzing everyone with Mischief #5 in the perfume department -- two boys simultaneously tour the store using Natalie's floor-by-floor list of favorites and Naughtily's hilariously drawn map. In addition, six silly pooches have their own bit of fun as the make their way through the store. Vincent X. Kirsch's gorgeously detailed illustrations provide a delicious hide-and-seek game for readers as they try to follow all four kids and all six pooches throughout this whimsical romp of a book.