23 out of 23 people found this review helpful.
"No One Knows Fancy Like Nancy"
Date of Review: Sep 4, 2009
The Bottom Line: My daughter just loves Fancy Nancy and I highly recommend this book for little girls.
* Please note this review is for the book simply titled Fancy Nancy. The pictured book does not correspond to the reviewed book title.
A friend of mine recently gave me some books that had belonged to her 8 year old daughter. My daughter (4 years old) went through all the books, and based on the cover alone, immediately took to Fancy Nancy.
Fancy Nancy is a beautifully illustrated book about a young girl named Nancy that just looooves being fancy. She loves to dress fancy and to speak with fancy words, especially if the words are French. The problem is that her family isn't fancy. So Nancy holds a class for her family so they can learn to be fancy too. Once they all learn how to be fancy like Nancy, the whole family heads out to dinner, complete with fancy clothing and fancy words. But when Nancy trips and falls, she no longer feels fancy and wants to head home. Nancy and her family have a not-so-fancy, but heartwarming, end to the evening as she thanks her family for being fancy as they all tell one another in simple words that they love one another.
Fancy Nancy is written by Jane O'Connor and illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser. It is written as if Nancy is speaking. Many words in the book can be read by young readers. I like that new vocabulary is introduced in such a fun manner. The amusing dialogue teaches new ways of saying ordinary words such as when Nancy says "My favorite color is fuchsia. That's a fancy way of saying purple".
I also love the illustrations - there is so much going on for a child to look at and talk about. Nancy is often seen wearing her frilly socks, a tiara, and jewelry. The background pictures enhance the story. There is so much for a parent to appreciate that may be lost on a young child. For instance, one page depicts Nancy practicing writing her name in various ways such as Nansee, Nancee, and Nanci, complete with a heart over the "i".
My daughter wants this book read to her over and over again and each time she giggles her way through the book. Until I searched for this book title in the Epinions database, I had no idea that there is a whole series of Fancy Nancy books and products. We have since taken a couple Fancy Nancy books out from the library. My daughter has liked them, but none have had the appeal of the original fancy Nancy. I highly recommend this book for any little girl.
