Giselle Potter

This illustrated children's book is adapted from Hegi's novel, [Stones from the River], and features its protagonist, Trudi, a dwarf trying to come to terms with her otherness. In the novel this takes place in German society, during the rise of Nazi rule and the trauma of WWII. The much abbreviated children's version eliminates all mention of Trudi's family and neighbors, war and politics, and focuses on her personal struggle to be herself in a world seemingly created for bigger people. When she finally meets another "little person", a circus performer named Pia, she learns to accept her "strangeness" as normal, and imagines they both have come from a magical island where everyone is small and beauty is all around. Presumably the point of this book is to let children see differences as gifts, rather than as obstacles. I don't think it works very well. The illustrations look as though they were done by a child with some artistic ability who hasn't learned about perspective yet. Since the story is all about perspective, this seems like a flaw, and the art lacks the primitive charm that could have saved it. It is listed as being for readers from 5 to 9 years of age. I think dwarfism may be too specific a difference to have wide appeal for that age range, and the lesson is too much the point of the story. I'm not going to share this one with my 5-to-9ers. I just don't think they'd care much for it. The presentation doesn't do justice to my memory of the novel, either, although it has been close to 20 years since I read it.… (mehr)

Everyone probably wishes sometime in their life that they could be someone else. This book is full of wishes. Two sisters who wish to be like the other, because the other seems to have it better. But they realize that everyone wishes at some time that they were something different. And that if they were both alike, they would be themselves. I like the message of this book, but I don’t care for the rest of it. I think the art style is a little old fashioned and I hate the … between the words and characters. Just overall, this book was not a success for this reader.… (mehr)