Check out this month’s review for “Olivia” by Ian Falconer, one of Dr. Toughlove’s all-time favorite children’s books.
Dr. Toughlove has decided to review one of her all-time favorite children’s books, “Olivia”, written and illustrated by Ian Falconer. Published in 2000, this Caldecott Award winner is the first in a long list of books about Olivia, a spunky, entertaining pig who has won the hearts and minds of her fans for the last twenty years.
Ian Falconer has revealed that the Olivia book series was inspired by his niece Olivia, who he found to be energetic and captivating. The rest, as the saying goes, is history. There have been eight picture books in the Olivia series along with a number of stand-alone books featuring Olivia.
Very often, when Dr. Toughlove recommends a picture book, she extolls the virtues of bold, colorful illustrations. Ian Falconer takes a different approach illustrating “Olivia” called stark minimalism. The illustrations are black, white and gray with a splash of color, usually, but not always red. This approach enables children, particularly young ones, to focus on Olivia and her effervescent personality.
One of the most intriguing aspects of “Olivia” is Falconer’s ability to use his minimalist illustrations to depict Olivia’s personality. There is a two-page spread that Dr. Toughlove particularly loves that has Olivia trying on her plethora of wardrobe choices. The outfits range from full length gowns to bathing suits, and most are accented in red, with a variety of accessories. Never let it be said that Olivia doesn’t have fashion sense.
Dr. Toughlove loves the fact that Ian Falconer integrates lots of factual information into this book. For example, the first page shows Olivia holding a book entitled “40 Very Loud Songs” and later on the reader learns that Olivia loves Maria Callas, the famous opera singer. Dr. Toughlove doesn’t want to share all of the details, but references to Jackson Pollock’s art and Edgar Degas’s ballerinas are embedded in the story in an age-appropriate way.
Dr. Toughlove truly wishes she could count the number of times she has read this book aloud to students and grandchildren. On the aforementioned two-page spread, Dr. Toughlove loves to ask her listeners to rate their favorite Olivia outfit. Teachers and parents have been known to make bar graphs based on the results to teach math skills. Other follow-up activities could include exposing the children to Maria Callas’ operas or Degas’s ballerina paintings and sculptures. The possibilities are endless and can be driven by the children’s interests and abilities.
While this book is recommended for children aged 4-8, Dr. Toughlove finds that older children (and adults) enjoy Olivia’s antics and Falconer’s use of subtle humor as well. “Olivia” by Ian Falconer is available at the Queen Anne’s County Library.