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conulyGot the sequel, too.
The books would be better if they weren't quite so long, but they're not bad either. And the author is great with the niggling details of consistent characterization - one character is this absurdly bright two year old - so bright that the other characters don't realize until they're told that she's just two and a half years old! (This stretches credibility somewhat, as she's got the same body as the average two year old, and the same need for sleep, lack of dexterity, and general lack of experience as the average two year old, but they just figure she's a bit weird.) And yet, when you look back over the book, it all makes sense - her behavior is exactly what you'd expect of a two (and a half) year old with the vocabulary and math skills of an adult (and then some). In the next book, the kid (now almost four) looks through a marble with one eye and carefully covers the other with her hand because she isn't able to wink yet.
I know little kids can't wink because my mother has told me (repeatedly) but not everybody does know this - Ana's teacher this year didn't, for example. So it's a nice little detail put in there.
So here's the thing. We have a very consistent book. One of the characters (not the little kid) is described as having "light brown skin". He's shown in the in-book illustrations as being visibly darker skinned than the other children. And yet, on the covers of both books - done by the same illustrator, the shapes of all the characters are the same! - he has the same very light burn-under-moonlight skin as the other characters.
What gives?
The books would be better if they weren't quite so long, but they're not bad either. And the author is great with the niggling details of consistent characterization - one character is this absurdly bright two year old - so bright that the other characters don't realize until they're told that she's just two and a half years old! (This stretches credibility somewhat, as she's got the same body as the average two year old, and the same need for sleep, lack of dexterity, and general lack of experience as the average two year old, but they just figure she's a bit weird.) And yet, when you look back over the book, it all makes sense - her behavior is exactly what you'd expect of a two (and a half) year old with the vocabulary and math skills of an adult (and then some). In the next book, the kid (now almost four) looks through a marble with one eye and carefully covers the other with her hand because she isn't able to wink yet.
I know little kids can't wink because my mother has told me (repeatedly) but not everybody does know this - Ana's teacher this year didn't, for example. So it's a nice little detail put in there.
So here's the thing. We have a very consistent book. One of the characters (not the little kid) is described as having "light brown skin". He's shown in the in-book illustrations as being visibly darker skinned than the other children. And yet, on the covers of both books - done by the same illustrator, the shapes of all the characters are the same! - he has the same very light burn-under-moonlight skin as the other characters.
What gives?
