Sylvie

This book is well written and the paintings by Sattler are fabulous. It is the story of a young flamingo named Sylvie. Once she finds out that she and her family and all the flamingos are pink because the shrimp they eat are pink, she decides to experiment. She soon realizes that if she eats different things she can change her color, and what fun she has trying to be different. She turns green and purple, and brown, blue red stripy and even paisley. The illustration paintings by the author are fun and funny and will make your children laugh out loud. Join Sylvie in her experiments as she tries different colors but realizes it is best to just be yourself.

"Sylvie" by author-illustrator Jennifer Sattler takes a unique approach to the theme of embracing one's true self, via a cute little flamingo, Sylvie who wonders why she is pink. Her mother tells her it's due to the pink shrimp they eat, and Sylvie decides to explore the other colors she could be, by eating grapes [and turning purple], munching on a red kite and turning scarlet, etc. Of course, by the end, Sylvie decides she is happier just being her pink self, but does play around a little bit with her food, just for fun's sake:) A great picture book for young children with vibrant colors that will capture young readers' imaginations.

I just might have found my favorite new picture book -- it's called SYLVIE and it's written and illustrated by Jennifer Sattler. I should probably start out this review by saying that I absolutely love flamingos and I have ever since I was in high school. I'm not the type to put the plastic ones in my yard, but I think real, live flamingos are just beautiful. So when I found a book that featured an adorable little flamingo, I couldn't wait to read it! SYLVIE is just a wonderful book for so many different reasons. First of all, it is an extremely entertaining story and very funny too! When Sylvie realizes that she is pink because she eats pink shrimp, she decides to try some other foods that are different colors (and patterns) to see what happens. She eventually gets sick and doesn't feel (or look) at all like herself. When she returns home and sees her family, she realizes that she should just be herself. I also thought that the illustrations in the book were just beautiful. Since the author uses a variety of colors and patterns to tell the story, she had the opportunity to make everything in this book extremely eye-catching. Each page is just filled with tons of bright colors, and there are just a few words per page -- absolutely perfect for preschoolers! I have a feeling that it's a book that we're going to read again and again. I also really liked the message in this story -- that it's always important to be true to yourself. And even if you seem to be just like everyone else (like Sylvie), you can still be special and have your own unique traits. That is a message that I'm constantly trying to tell each of my children and I love that this book reinforces it. Even though this book features a pink bird, my almost five-year old son loved it too! I'm not going to tell you that my enthusiasm for this book didn't have a little something to do with that, but I really think he did like the book on his own. After we finished reading it (and before I could even ask him what was his favorite part), he told me that he liked "everything" in the story. When I asked him to explain to me what was the best part of the book, he told me that he thought it was funny when Sylvie got sick from eating too much. And then he told me that he really liked the end when Sylvie decided to go back to her family and start eating like a normal flamingo. I was so happy that he grasped the entire story and the message in it.

Sylvie is an excellent children's book. It is well written and entertaining. The illustrations are beautiful. Jennifer Gordon Sattler outdid herself!

Sylvie, written and illustrated by Jennifer Sattler, is the story of an adorable pink flamingo, searching for her identity. When she wonders why she is pink instead of a different color and her mother tells her it's because of the shrimp that flamingos eat, Sylvie decides to try out some different colors, by eating lots of different things. Sylvie samples some grapes and turns a lovely shade of purple, snacks on some chocolate and becomes a beautiful brown, and even consumes a piece of paisley bathing suit and is instantly a gorgeous paisley all over. However, after trying all of wonderful colors, Sylvie feels a bit yucky and a whole lot less like Sylvie. Though the plot is one like a lot we've heard before....trying out different identities before truly loving one's self, Sylvie is presented in a unique, super-cute, funny manner, with hilarious illustrations, and some great. This would make a wonderful read aloud!