Silverlicious, by Victoria Kann

by Victoria Kann
HarperCollins Publishers
978-006-178123-0

It's always fun to get envelopes (or better yet, boxes) in the mail from publishers and see what treasures are inside. Every once in a while, though, you pull one out and feel your mouth automatically pucker into an "Oooooooooh!!!", as visions of specific patrons start flashing through your mind.

Such is definitely the case with Victoria Kann's latest! We can't keep Pinkalicious and its sequels on the shelves, and this one is sure to fly out the door just as quickly.

BUT...all that is without opening the cover. We know it will sell/check out, because it's Pinkalicious. But is the story any good?

First, a note on the illustrations: whew! If little girls didn't get their pink fix in any of the earlier books, the copyright page alone should satisfy them. So, what's with the silver? We don't see any new friends or magical unicorns in silver, just lots and lots of pink! And...jellybeans?

In this 'episode', Pinkalicious has a loose tooth that finally falls out. Good news, right? Wrong! This was her sweet tooth, and now nothing tastes sweet! (I know, who knew Pinkalicious could star in a horror story!)

Not to fear, she writes a note asking the tooth fairy for help. And gets Cupid. And the Easter Bunny. And a Christmas Elf. All very nice, but not what she wanted! Finally, the tooth fairy makes her appearance with some silver (aha!) coins, and reminds Pinkalicious of what it really means for something to be sweet.

A very cute story that will lend itself easily to read-alouds, with listeners guessing who will come next and what they will leave behind. A child learning to count could sit on your lap for hours, counting hearts, eggs, or candy canes. You may end up with some candy cravings of your own by the end, though, so be forewarned!

So yes, it does measure up to the rest of the series, and you can purchase it for your library without worrying that Kann has fallen into the too-commercialized-to-try trap. We give it a

4 out of 5.

And now we would like some candy hearts, please, we are suddenly very hungry.

Picture Book Wednesday: Pinkalicious: Tickled Pink, by Victoria Kann

Yes, another Pinkalicious book! This one, due out in a couple weeks, will no doubt be snapped up by little girls (and a few big ones) everywhere. The whole series has without a doubt been wildly popular.

Unfortunately, with this particular book we see signs of the curse many series fall under. Sometimes the pressure to produce more causes the stories themselves to suffer. "Tickled Pink" isn't awful, but if it weren't a Pinkalicious book, we aren't sure it would stand on its own. The storyline just doesn't seem as smoothly written. We hope that this is just a fluke - or that it's just a matter of turtles not being attuned to 6-year-old humor - because we know there will be a continued demand for Pinkalicious books! We'll give it a

3 out of 5.

Picture Book Wednesday: Pinkalicious: School Rules! by Victoria Kann

Don't you hate it that you can't bring your pets to school? Particularly your (imaginary to some people) pet unicorn, Goldilicious? Pinkalicioues is not a huge fan of rules, especially this one. We have to say we agree - we can't tell you how many stuffy places we have been kicked out of ourselves! Pinkalicious tries bringing Goldie to school with her one day, but Goldie unintentionally causes a little trouble. Fortunately, Pinkalicious has a very cool teacher (who even calls her by her chosen name), and he finds a way for Goldie to stay at school.

Pink and unicorns - does anyone not know several dozen little girls who will swarm this book? We recommend multiple copies for your shelves, and give it a

4 out of 5.

Picture Book Wednesday: Pinkalicious and the Pink Drink, by Victoria Kann

"One hot summer day, Pinkalicious gets an idea that is simply pinkerrific - a pink lemonade stand! But before Pinkalicious can start selling her lemonade, she has to figure out how to make the pink drink as pinktastic as possible. Pink grapefruit, pink watermelon and pink frosting - if it's pink, it's the perfect ingredient!"

We were excited to see a new Pinkalicious book, because we knew our patrons would be excited - particularly the 3-7-year-old-girl demographic. Kann's books have been very popular, with copies wearing out and needing to be replaced, so we know this one will be a hit as well. We, on the other hand, are in a slightly different grouping ourselves (the indeterminately-aged male turtle demographic), so to review this one, we enlisted the help of some of our patrons.

Aeriel, age 3, was the very first person we shared the book with. Her favorite part was the pink lemonade.
 
Abbigail, age 8, says (giggling), "I like the part when one of the customers made a face and said something is missing and something is too much." She also thought it was funny that the piggy bank is empty again at the end of the book.

Alayna, age 8, liked the part where all the pink ingredients are mixed together, and said it reminds her of a book called "Treasure Tree", in which an otter makes a cupcake with pickle icing. (We think she is referring to this book.)

Cute story, cute pictures, sure to be a hit with the cute ones in your life. For a fairly safe extension, try a sidewalk lemonade stand. For a more adventurous time, see what happens when you mix like-colored items in YOUR kitchen!