Shrinking Violet | 
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| Author: Cari Best
Creator: Giselle Potter
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Category: Book
List Price: $16.50
Buy Used: $2.44
You Save: $14.06 (85%)
New (4) Used (14) from $2.44
Avg. Customer Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 223582
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st ed
Reading Level: Ages 4-8
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 40
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 10 x 9.1 x 0.5
ISBN: 0374368821
EAN: 9780374368821
ASIN: 0374368821
Publication Date: August 6, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: EX-LIBRARY; used item may have library binding and show stamps, stickers or other marks. Items not meeting quality expectations may be returned for refund.
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
When class bully Irwin taunts Violet about her fat knees (they're not) or deadly sewer gas smell (she doesn't), all she wants to do is shrink away. The thought of being in the class play about the solar system makes her itch and scratch and twirl her hair. But when she's alone or with her best friend, Opal, Violet is a master performer, mimicking her classmates and retaliating against Irwin with razor-sharp wit. Her chance for real-life revenge comes at last during the play, when she plays the offstage role of Lady Space. On opening night, when Irwin, a.k.a. Mars, starts to spin out of control and forgets his lines, Violet saves the day (but not without a little of her savage humor). Cari Best and Giselle Potter, whimsical creators of Three Cheers for Catherine the Great!, bring every shy child's fantasy to life in this delightfully gratifying picture book. Potter's naive watercolors are unusual, but they capture beautifully the shrinking and subsequent blooming of Violet as she finds her own voice, even if it is spoken from a "dark and mysterious place" offstage. (Ages 5 to 8) --Emilie Coulter
Product Description
Never has being shy seemed so rewarding!Whether she's impersonating Elvis, swaggering like Captain Hook, or imitating the sounds of a cricket, Violet is expressive and funny -- but only when she's alone or with her best friend, Opal. At school, especially around class bully Irwin, who teases her nonstop, she retreats into a shell of shyness. But when Irwin, playing the part of Planet Mars in the class play, begins to spin wildly out of control and threatens to ruin the entire production, it's Violet who saves the day -- managing not only to give Irwin his comeuppance but to find her own unique way of surviving the spotlight. Illustrations brimming with humor and charm add to the fun in this fresh take on overcoming shyness.
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| Customer Reviews:
WHO CAN FORGET "My Very Excellent Mother J-S-U-N-P" ?! December 11, 2005
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
School plays! There is always someone who has the shudders while others flutter in the limelight. Violet, that shyest of all 4th graders, is chosen to be "Lady Space" - - narrator for a production about the planets & other heavenly bodies. Violet's body is given to blushing deeply and shrinking under school desks. Cari Best's clever story will encourage many children with/or/without dramatic tendencies to brave the elements and shine forth.
The author and Giselle Potter, painter of twig-legged children, have created an endearing tale of childhood trauma. It is colorfully constructed to show how a cocoon of shyness might come unraveled while laughing & even learning an elementary lesson in astronomy.
Reviewer mcHAIKU exhorts everyone to encourage dramatic opportunities for every child. "Shrinking Violet" is great fun for sisters, brothers, classmates, parents. Many lessons cloaked in drama can lead us to 'intelligent life' !
Shrinking Violet - More than just a wonderful story March 6, 2002
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
A rare and delightful book about social anxiety disorder in childhood. Best aptly describes Violet's symptoms in an accurate and endearing way and communicates a basic truth of dealing with social anxiety - it gets better when you do the things you are afraid of. Beautifully illustrated and writen in an endearing style, children love the book and learn as they are giggling. As a psychologist, I've used this book in therapy with several children. It is a wonderful vehicle for helping them to understand and overcome their social and performance anxieties.
Who is the hidden actreas. February 14, 2002
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I think that this is a very interesting book. It shows how someone very shy and sometimes wants to just disappear gets over their fears. The main character is Violet. Violet always gets bullied around by Irwin who is always insulted her. One day Violet helped him out, to find out what happened read this book. I think that this is a very interesting book. It shows how someone very shy and sometimes wants to just disappear gets over their fears. The main character is Violet. Violet always gets bullied around by Irwin who is always insulted her. One day Violet helped him out, to find out what happened read this book.
Violet Saves the Day..... September 30, 2001
16 out of 16 found this review helpful
For as long as Violet could remember, she didn't like to be watched. "I am allergic to attention." Being watched made her cheeks blush rhubarb red and when everyone stared, she itched and scratched and twirled her hair. Class bully, Irwin, made things even worse. He said she had fat knees, hairy arms and smelled liked deadly sewer gas and everyone stared. "I wish I could just shrink away," she thought. When her teacher, Mrs. Maxwell, announces that the class will put on a play about the solar system and everyone will have a part, poor Violet is terrified. But Mrs. Maxwell assures her that Lady Space is a mysterious voice, offstage, that is only heard and never seen. The class practices and works hard and Violet especially likes her part. During the performance, the play begins well, all the planets, stars and comets, asteroids, meteoroids and even the sun know their places and their lines. That is, except Irwin, and that's when Violet steps in and saves the day..... Cari Best and Giselle Potter have really captured the essence of the quiet, shy child and overt class bully in their charming picture book, Shrinking Violet. Ms Best's text is gentle and sympathetic and complemented by Ms Potter's expressive and detailed watercolor artwork and together they've written an empathetic and amusing story with a simple message that won't be lost on young readers. Perfect for kids 4-8, Shrinking Violet is a story told with great insight, humor and wisdom and youngsters will enjoy watching Violet "bloom" again and again, with each reading.
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