The Yellow Tutu
by Kirsten Bramsen, illustrated by Carin Bramsen
by Kirsten Bramsen, illustrated by Carin Bramsen
2009 | 40 pages | Picture Book
In The Yellow Tutu, written by Kirsten Bramsen, and illustrated by Carin Bramsen, Margo, a little girl with wide, bright eyes, and untamed springy curls a la Shirley Temple, receives a brand-new bright yellow tutu for her birthday. After trying it on and dancing around a bit, she decides that wearing the tutu on her head will make her look just like the sun. When she wears it to school, however, her friends make fun of her and encourage her to wear her tutu like a normal person. Margo is totally dejected until Pearl, another non-conformist, shows her that it's okay to be different, and puts her own pink tutu on her head as well.
This book is beautifully illustrated. The light-filled pages and soft, muted colors of everything from Margo's blue pajamas covered in clouds to her shiny red shoes create a whimsical, cheery mood. The texture of the yellow tutu is so realistically rendered that I felt like I could reach into the book and feel the tulle between my fingers. The story, however, was really too silly for me, and when I arrived at the illustration of squirrels lounging on the sidewalk drinking lemonade, it lost me altogether. That seemed too far-fetched for an otherwise reality-based story. I also questioned whether Margo should have been so surprised by her friends' reactions to her tutu. It seemed like she had no self-awareness at all and that didn't seem plausible.
In any case, silly or not, this book delivers an important message: that differences are not just to be tolerated, but celebrated, and that sometimes having just one like-minded friend can be enough to turn around an otherwise unpleasant situation. Preschoolers who are interested in ballerinas will find not just a fancy dancing outfit in this book, but an important life lesson as well.
I borrowed The Yellow Tutu from my local public library.
I too am an educator and have read 'The Yellow Tutu' to elementary school classes on several occasions. I do so because I feel that its message is an important one to be conveyed to young people. However, I find your criticisms, although few, a bit confusing. You mention the story to be silly upon observation of lemonade drinking squirrels. The squirrels are merely illustrations that have no bearing on the book's message. Also, regarding Margo's 'self-awareness' of lack thereof...I have always found that self-awareness is always in the eye of the beholder(especially with children), just examine the populace of any large town or city. On the whole, your review is quite fair and accurate ...but in some places, a little narrow.
ReplyDeleteI love this book. Its heroine, Margo, is brimming with self-confidence and
ReplyDeleteimagination at the start. Later, after being targeted by classmate bullies
who ridicule her creative play, Margo discovers even deeper strength
through friendship and self-belief. I agree with this review that the
illustration of a squirrel picnic and an image of Margo with tears don't
actually correspond to the text - but beyond those pictorial indulgences
the story itself is pure poetry. I have read this book to children aged 3,
4 and 5 years, and almost every time the child immediately asks me to
start from the beginning again - and it's because of the writing. Margo is
a strong and passionate little personality, resilient and resourceful.
Children of all dispositions identify with her desire to create
and explore the world rather than destroy. The relief they feel at the end
when she and her friend Pearl skip off to have their tea party together --
with their tutus on their heads, like roses in their make-believe garden --
is itself a lesson about what to cherish in life.