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Summary
Summary
There's nothing like a day at the beach with Lottie! Armed with a handy towel and plenty of ingenuity, she turns lemons into lemonade in Petra Mathers's sweet, funny, and completely winning picture book.
Author Notes
Petra Mathers came to the U.S. when she was 23. She started painting the walls in her son's room and eventually had a gallery showing of her art. Friends encouraged her to try illustrating children's books. Her early books were filled with black-and-white illustrations, but Petra really wanted to do color. She has moved on and among the books that have garnered praise are Kisses from Rosa, Sophie and Lou, Patchwork Island and When It Snowed that Night.
Petra now writes her own stories and accompanies them with full-color art. Her heart is in the Lottie stories and she said that she would like to be as prolific as Beatrix Potter and do scads of books. Her latest is Dodo Gets Married in which Lottie's friend Dodo meets a retired Coast Guard helicopter pilot with a wooden leg. It is a match made in heaven and the wedding preparations and big celebration bring all of her characters together at one big happy event.
Petra is a self-taught artist. Her earliest works were created with crayons and cheap watercolors. Petra believes that her inspiration comes from the muses-all she really does is record what is coming to her.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-KÄUnlike Janet Stoeke's charmingly foolish Minerva Louise, Lottie is neither cuddly nor befuddled. Instead, she is a quirky character, full of creative ideas. In fact, this quick-thinking chicken finds many uses for the bright beach towel her Aunt Mattie sent as a gift. She walks on the polka-dotted towel to keep her feet from burning on the sand, uses it as a sail when her friend Herbie's motorboat conks out, and offers to lend it to an unhappy bride who has lost her veil. She ends the day by writing to tell Aunt Mattie of all her unexpected adventures. Mathers's own quirky sense of humor is readily apparent in the clever illustrations and deadpan delivery. Observant readers will be amused by Lottie's knitting (she's making socks-shaped for chicken feet) and by Herbie's voracious appetite (he consumes at least three pieces of wedding cake). They'll also be impressed by Lottie's ability to make the best of a bad situation. The back cover suggests that Lottie, like Minerva Louise, may eventually appear in more than one picture book. Her reappearance will be eagerly anticipated by those who enjoy this low-key yet engaging offering.ÄLisa Dennis, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In the spirit of her Sophie and Lou, Mathers captivates readers with this unorthodox oceanside outing starring two charming feathered friends. As Lottie, a chicken, prepares for a picnic with her duck pal Herbie, a package arrives: a red-and-white polka-dotted beach towel sent by Aunt Mattie, who thought it "might come in handy." Aunt Mattie was right: by day's end the towel has, among other things, helped Lottie carry her ice cooler across the burning sand ("Hop off the towel onto the cooler. Towel, cooler, off, on... all the way down to the water"), served as a sail for Herbie's boat and provided a stylish if unconventional headdress for a bride whose veil has blown away. That night Lottie sits down to write the thank-you note to end all thank-you notes, while the towel dries on a clothesline under a starlit indigo sky. Mathers paints a portrait of a winsome heroine characterized by unflagging practical resourcefulness and bursts of romantic inspiration. She achieves this end through the expert crafting of a low-key yet humorous text and droll art. For example, in a double-spread of four panels, Mathers depicts Lottie when she first reaches the beach and challenges a wave; then as the wave sweeps her up so that only her feet show, next in a barrage of bubbles and finally the discombobulated chicken says, "Is that my foot? Silly me, it's a starfish." Mathers builds pleasingly uncluttered compositions with simple lines, flat perspectives and bright colors, using detail sparingly but whimsically (after lunch Mattie knits a lime-green three-toed sock). A sunny, summery book that captures the feel of a long, eventful day at the beach, and one that will be remembered for many seasons to come. Ages 3-8. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Faced with challenges on an idyllic summer outing with her good friend Herbie, Lottie (a chicken), armed with a beautiful beach towel newly arrived in the mail, surmounts them all. The towel comes in useful when the sand is too hot to walk on, when the motor on their boat conks out, and when a bride's veil blows out to sea just before the ceremony. Pure fun, with a resourceful, big-hearted main character; humor in both text and pictures; and a good story, elegantly shaped. From HORN BOOK Fall 1998, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
On an outing with her friend, Herbiea ducka resourceful hen named Lottie finds multiple uses for her new polka-dot towel: on a hot beach, under a picnic, as a sail for a boat with a conked-out motor, and even in a wedding, when a sea breeze blows the bride's veil away. Combining quick wit with a broad streak of daffiness (`` `Is that my foot? Silly me, it's a starfish' ''), Lottie will win readers over instantly, and the sparely drawn and colored panels capture her vivacious charm perfectly. Move over, Minerva Louise (Minerva Louise at School, 1996, etc.). (Picture book. 5-7)
Booklist Review
Ages 4^-7. Children will instantly warm to the resourceful heroine of this clever, cute, and classy story. Lottie's aunt Mattie has sent her the perfect present for her day at the beach with pal Herbie, and the brand-new, red-and-white polka-dot towel comes in handy in more ways than expected. Lottie uses it as a mat to protect her tender chicken feet from the hot sand, whips it into a sail after she and Herbie are stranded at sea, and shapes it into a last-minute veil for a fretful bride-to-be. The sweet story of Lottie's ingenuity and her gentle companionship with Herbie sparkles, but it's Mathers' artwork that really steals the show. Wispy whites on vivid blue-greens capture a refreshing ocean; hot yellow tones warm the sand and sun; and the canny use of line, light, and shadow perfectly conveys the wind, the tide, and the time of day. A pleasant read that is truly a great day at the beach. --Kathleen Squires