Emma's journey

Emma's Journey by Claire Frossard

My rating: 1 of 5 stars
I did not enjoy this one. It sets out to be a journey to Paris but Emma spends all her time just getting across town. It weaves together real photos and illustrations. If the focus is New York City why not make it a journey around NYC?

Here is what Kirkus had to say:
Kirkus Review (October 1, 2010)
An elegant idea becomes a rather inelegant mish-mash, as the author/illustrator combines her tale with her uncle's photographs. Emma is a sparrow, a rounded figure with polka-dot boots, a red pom-pom on her white beret and little wings that work like hands. She lives in Central Park and loves to ride on her best friend Duckyduck's back as he swims. ButDuckyduck is migrating for the winter, and lonely Emma ends up at retired Uncle Bob's. He recounts how their family migrated from Paris, and Emma decides to go there, but she needs to find Captain Joe, who lives near the Brooklyn Bridge. The illustrations consist mostly of Claire Frossard's small, colorful figures placed on Etienne Frossard's large and striking photographs of New York in winter. The visual narrative includes plenty of amusing side details (especially enjoyable are pictorial thought-bubbles), but Emma's story is overlong and meandering, more a vehicle for the images than their integral complement. Though frequently fanciful and amusing, the parts never quite weave into a coherent whole. (Picture book. 5-8)





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