Fancy Nancy

January 9, 2006
With exuberance, élan and lots of heart, O'Connor (the Nina, Nina Ballerina books) and Glasser (A Is for Abigail
) prove that the bosom of the family has ample room for even the most outré individualist. Channeling the spirits of Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn—whose pictures adorn her extravagantly decorated room—Nancy tries to make the world a more flamboyant place, starting with her decidedly down-to-earth family ("They never even ask for sprinkles," she notes as they exit an ice cream parlor). She offers her parents and little sister a free tutorial in all things fancy (yellow is plain, gold is fancy), which they gamely attend, and they even agree to go to a restaurant wearing Nancy-orchestrated frou-frou (Mom's ensemble includes Christmas ornament earrings and a feather boa). But when Nancy commits a faux pas of major proportions (she trips with a tray full of ice cream) she comes to realize that her family's love for her is as bottomless as her collection of hair accessories. O'Connor captures Nancy's dramatic precociousness without making her sound like a snoot ("My favorite color is fuchsia. That's a fancy way of saying purple"); she comes across as a genuinely creative spirit rather than an imperious fashionista. Glasser's pictures brim with comic detail and sparkle like a bauble from Tiffany. Like O'Connor, she empathizes with Nancy's over-the-top sensibility, yet gently grounds the heroine in the steady (if bemused) embrace of her family. Ages 4-7.

February 1, 2006
PreS-K -Young Nancy, like her literary predecessors Eloise and Olivia, is a glamour queen dropped into a boring world - -Nobody in my family is fancy at all. They never even ask for sprinkles. - She determines to rescue her relatives from their humdrum existence by giving them lessons and accessorizing their mundane wardrobes. A situation that is charming when observed by adults in real life doesn -t translate into a successful picture book. Children pretending to be fabulous creatures is appealing when it is innocent and unforced. This book, despite Glasser -s wonderfully energetic artwork, is ultimately a story told by adults for adults." -Kathleen Whalin, York Public Library, ME"

Copyright 2006 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2006
PreS-Gr. 2. For Nancy, there's no such thing as too, too much; she loves her frilly bedroom, her lace-trimmed socks, and her pen with a plume. Nancy teaches her family how to be fancy, too. Then following Nancy's lead, the fancied-up family heads for a festive night out (at the local pizzeria). A messy food mishap puts a damper on Nancy's joy, but her supportive family and the" stupendous," " posh"), along with a sense of the rewards of a family doing things together. The cheerfully colored art is aptly exuberant, a riotous blending of color and pattern and action. A book sure to appeal to girls' inner princesses--and inspire new ensembles and decor.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)

February 20, 2012
Fancy Nancy pirouettes into middle-grade territory with the launch of a mystery series that has her emulating another famous Nancy—Nancy Drew. The stylish sleuth assumes the role with élan, dressed for the job in a pink trench coat and sunglasses, carrying a rhinestone-studded magnifying glass. Initially frustrated by the lack of cases to crack (“I wish we lived someplace like River Heights,” she complains. “In River Heights, criminals are lurking around every corner”), Nancy springs into action when her teacher’s prized blue marble goes missing. Nancy shows both her trademark flair for translating (“Ooh la la! Nancy felt all tingly just saying the word ‘motive.’ It meant the reason for doing something bad”) and her penchant for humorous exaggeration. As in Nancy’s earlier picture books and I Can Read titles, her affectionate interactions with her younger sister, JoJo, and their parents ground the story. O’Connor and Glasser are as in synch as ever, and readers who have grown up with Fancy Nancy will be thrilled to follow her new career path. Ages 7–10.

October 26, 2009
The world has never seemed fancier to Nancy than at Christmas: there's abundant snow, the house is decked out in lights and, on Christmas Eve, Nancy has a special angel tree topper to hang. The trouble is, Christmas Eve comes with a lot of waiting (Nancy keeps busy decorating cookies, wrapping presents and caroling while awaiting family members' arrival). Nancy's ebullience results in a tearful mishap, but the glamorous heroine's vivacious personality, captured once again in Glasser's cheerfully detailed illustrations and a sprinkling of fancy vocabulary, proves evergreen. Ages 4–7.

July 1, 2016
When her parents win an overnight at a resort, Nancy reassures her little sister that she'll take care of her while they're spending the night at a neighbor's house. O'Connor keeps the franchise fresh by spotlighting braggadocio-spewing Nancy's human side (guess who misses her parents at the sleepover?). Glasser doesn't waste any chance to shoehorn in a pleasingly swirly detail.

(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2006
Tiara-topped Nancy decides to give her too-casual family lessons in how to be fancy. Girlie girls will relate to Nancy's over-the-top obsession with fanciness, but her would-be childlike narration ("My favorite color is fuchsia. That's a fancy way of saying purple") will fool no one. Glasser's illustrations are appropriately glammed up.

(Copyright 2006 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)