Fancy Nancy Etc.

The first Fancy Nancy book works on every level.  Visually strong, with a consistent tone and a great lead character, the story arc mirrors a good short story: Nancy’s efforts to fancify her unfancy family intensify until, at the last moment, they fall (literally) apart, with a single-spread denoument that puts her and her family in a whole new light. It’s a delight to read aloud, the illustrations contain multitudes of small jokes and clever ideas, and the ending feels satisfying to adults and kids alike.  Jane O’Connor’s text repeatedly employs the technique of having Nancy use a fancy word, then translate it to a word a child would know; my four-year-old daughter now thinks she speaks French, because she’s mastered some of Nancy’s fancy words. And Robin Preiss Glasser has done her finest work, hands down; the opening spreads of Nancy’s old and new bedrooms sets the tone for the whole book, and tells you boatloads about her personality before word one of the text.

 

 I wish I could say the same for the follow-on Fancy Nancy titles. Each subsequent Fancy Nancy book feels slightly longer, slightly less coherent, and ultimately is slightly less fun. The latest, Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy, describes Nancy’s latest dilemma: convincing her unfancy family that a papillon will be the perfect dog for them to adopt. The story sort of meanders, there are spreads that, while entertaining, feel disjointed, the illustrations feel almost fussy in places, and the end result is a story that nobody is asking me to “please read that one again.”