Shrinking Violet [Hardcover]

Cari Best (Author), Giselle Potter (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 6, 2001 | Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Never has being shy seemed so rewarding!

Whether she's impersonating Elvis, swaggering like Captain Hook, or imitating the sounds of a cricket, Violet is expressive and funny -- but only when she's alone or with her best friend, Opal. At school, especially around class bully Irwin, who teases her nonstop, she retreats into a shell of shyness. But when Irwin, playing the part of Planet Mars in the class play, begins to spin wildly out of control and threatens to ruin the entire production, it's Violet who saves the day -- managing not only to give Irwin his comeuppance but to find her own unique way of surviving the spotlight.

Illustrations brimming with humor and charm add to the fun in this fresh take on overcoming shyness.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

When class bully Irwin taunts Violet about her fat knees (they're not) or deadly sewer gas smell (she doesn't), all she wants to do is shrink away. The thought of being in the class play about the solar system makes her itch and scratch and twirl her hair. But when she's alone or with her best friend, Opal, Violet is a master performer, mimicking her classmates and retaliating against Irwin with razor-sharp wit. Her chance for real-life revenge comes at last during the play, when she plays the offstage role of Lady Space. On opening night, when Irwin, a.k.a. Mars, starts to spin out of control and forgets his lines, Violet saves the day (but not without a little of her savage humor).

Cari Best and Giselle Potter, whimsical creators of Three Cheers for Catherine the Great!, bring every shy child's fantasy to life in this delightfully gratifying picture book. Potter's naive watercolors are unusual, but they capture beautifully the shrinking and subsequent blooming of Violet as she finds her own voice, even if it is spoken from a "dark and mysterious place" offstage. (Ages 5 to 8) --Emilie Coulter

From Publishers Weekly

otter's piquant watercolors put the crowning touch on this humorous tale of a shy child who saves her school play from disaster. The aptly named Violet hates to be the center of attention. It makes her "itch and scratch and twirl her hair" and wish she could shrink away. Though she has other talents she's observant and a great mimic she opts out of the school flag parade and avoids making waves in the swimming pool or "swallowing sounds at snack time." She especially dislikes it when Irwin draws attention to her, announcing that she has fat knees and smells like "deadly sewer gas." But during the class play about the solar system (for which her teacher assigns her the offstage part of the narrator, Lady Space), Violet chooses the high road: when Irwin forgets his lines, she mimics his voice and saves the day. In another romp from the creators of Three Cheers for Catherine the Great!, Best zeroes in on a familiar childhood emotion with insight and flair. Potter's whimsical characters, with their toothpick legs, tiny feet and expressive faces, cavort across the pages in a flurry of muted colors (don't miss Violet's impersonation of the Statue of Liberty). Ages 4-8.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); 1st edition (August 6, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374368821
• ISBN-13: 978-0374368821
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 9.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #399,532 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shrinking Violet - More than just a wonderful story, March 6, 2002

By 

Suzanne T. Reiffel (Scarsdale, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shrinking Violet (Hardcover)

A rare and delightful book about social anxiety disorder in childhood. Best aptly describes Violet's symptoms in an accurate and endearing way and communicates a basic truth of dealing with social anxiety - it gets better when you do the things you are afraid of. Beautifully illustrated and writen in an endearing style, children love the book and learn as they are giggling. As a psychologist, I've used this book in therapy with several children. It is a wonderful vehicle for helping them to understand and overcome their social and performance anxieties.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Violet Saves the Day....., September 29, 2001

By 

Roz Levine - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shrinking Violet (Hardcover)

For as long as Violet could remember, she didn't like to be watched. "I am allergic to attention." Being watched made her cheeks blush rhubarb red and when everyone stared, she itched and scratched and twirled her hair. Class bully, Irwin, made things even worse. He said she had fat knees, hairy arms and smelled liked deadly sewer gas and everyone stared. "I wish I could just shrink away," she thought. When her teacher, Mrs. Maxwell, announces that the class will put on a play about the solar system and everyone will have a part, poor Violet is terrified. But Mrs. Maxwell assures her that Lady Space is a mysterious voice, offstage, that is only heard and never seen. The class practices and works hard and Violet especially likes her part. During the performance, the play begins well, all the planets, stars and comets, asteroids, meteoroids and even the sun know their places and their lines. That is, except Irwin, and that's when Violet steps in and saves the day..... Cari Best and Giselle Potter have really captured the essence of the quiet, shy child and overt class bully in their charming picture book, Shrinking Violet. Ms Best's text is gentle and sympathetic and complemented by Ms Potter's expressive and detailed watercolor artwork and together they've written an empathetic and amusing story with a simple message that won't be lost on young readers. Perfect for kids 4-8, Shrinking Violet is a story told with great insight, humor and wisdom and youngsters will enjoy watching Violet "bloom" again and again, with each reading.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WHO CAN FORGET "My Very Excellent Mother J-S-U-N-P" ?!, December 10, 2005

By 

mcHaiku "nmi" (Brown County INDIANA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Shrinking Violet (Hardcover)

School plays! There is always someone who has the shudders while others flutter in the limelight. Violet, that shyest of all 4th graders, is chosen to be "Lady Space" - - narrator for a production about the planets & other heavenly bodies. Violet's body is given to blushing deeply and shrinking under school desks. Cari Best's clever story will encourage many children with/or/without dramatic tendencies to brave the elements and shine forth.

The author and Giselle Potter, painter of twig-legged children, have created an endearing tale of childhood trauma. It is colorfully constructed to show how a cocoon of shyness might come unraveled while laughing & even learning an elementary lesson in astronomy.

Reviewer mcHAIKU exhorts everyone to encourage dramatic opportunities for every child. "Shrinking Violet" is great fun for sisters, brothers, classmates, parents. Many lessons cloaked in drama can lead us to 'intelligent life' !