Sylvie

When Sylvie, an inquisitive and impulsive young flamingo, asks her mother why they are pink, she's told it is because they eat shrimp. This response triggers both Sylvie's imagination and appetite. Sampling green palm leaves, purple grapes and chocolate ice cream (She thought she'd look yummy in chocolate!), she turns those colors. Sylvie's nibbling become more adventurous and her transformations all the sillier: she assumes the stripes of a beach towel and the paisley print of a swimsuit. But all this wreaks havoc on her stomach. Now exhibiting various colors and patterns simultaneously, she decides to resume her shrimp diet. Sattler's punchy text and expressive paintings convey Sylvie's ample personality with panache (the leggy flamingo strikes boldand rather coquettishposes as she delights in each of the colors) against paint-smeared beachy backdrops. Though she finally decides to be true to herself, the heroine displays her spunkiness at the story's end, as her tail duplicates the stripes of the rainbow lollipop she indulges in for dessert, leaving kids with a fittingly whimsical parting image. Ages 36. (May) Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Jennifer Sattler’s expressive watercolors bring Sylvie and her sunny environment and creative outlook to life. This is Jennifer’s first picture book for Random House Children’s Books. She has taught painting and drawing and exhibited extensively, winning an NEA grant in 1996. She is now a full-time mom living in Greenfield, New York.