Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Loula and Mister the Monster - a bookwrap





Unwrapping...






Authored and illustrated by Anne Villeneuve

Ages 3-7



Unwrapping the illustrations...which are magnifique























"One day, Loula overhears a very troubling conversation...

"I have had enough! roars Loula's mother.  I can't live with that ...Monster anymore!"

Loula has a pretty good idea who her mother is talking about...a certain "monster" who is too messy, too clumsy, and too hungry... her pet dog, Mister.  They do everything together.  They are inseparable so she concocts a plan to make her BFF the most lovable and obedient dog alive.  She decides he needs lessons to correct his spontaneous, carefree behaviour and to teach him perfect manners.  She unrolls him in Loula's School of Good Manners.  

Lesson one:
"Always keep clean and tidy from snout to tail." 

Into the bathtub he goes and then she adds one of dad's ties to make him look handsome and distinquished looking. Loula then invites him to a tea party to practice his table manners...but Mister, being himself leaps onto the table with ravenous abandon and gobbles everything up.  He is not so easily trained it seems.

Feeling downcast Loula asks her patient, understanding chauffeur, Gilbert, to help her out because she is not seeing a huge transformation in Mister's behaviour.   Gilbert kindly accepts the challenge and he pulls a book about good manners out of his pocket and together they try to teach Mister finesse.  Will they succeed and  will Mister become the most well-behaved canine ever?  Or will mother carry through her with her threat and throw poor Mister out, like an old pair of shoes?  Is there any way this poor dog can be saved and remain Loula's best friend?  

The illustrations are amazing.  Soft, delicate, expressive they enrich and add so much to the story.  I am positive it is a book your child will enjoy again and again, especially if she or he is a dog lover too.



About the author...







Anne Villeneuve has written and illustrated close to 40 books, created games for magazines, illustrated for newspapers and designed cake boxes for a bakery. Over the years, her work has earned her many distinguished recognitions, such as the Governor General's Literary Award and the Québec/Wallonie-Bruxelles Literary Award in 2000, the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award in 2005 and 2009, and the Mr. Christie's Book Award in 1998.
Anne Villeneuve has written and illustrated close to 40 books, created games for magazines, illustrated for newspapers and designed cake boxes for a bakery. Over the years, her work has earned her many distinguished recognitions, such as the Governor General's Literary Award and the Québec/Wallonie-Bruxelles Literary Award in 2000, the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award in 2005 and 2009, and the Mr. Christie's Book Award in 1998.
  



Read on and read always!

It's a wrap.





Contact me at storywrapsblog@gmail.com


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