Olivia . . . and the Missing Toy

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY SEP 1, 2003

The porcine star who burst onto the children's books stage in black and white plus her favorite color, red is back! Here Falconer adds green to his palette and mystery to the plot for this third adventure featuring the incomparable Olivia. However, "green is not Olivia's color." So she entreats her mother to make a red soccer jersey to replace her team's green one. "But then you'll look different from everyone else on the team," says her mother. "That's the point," retorts the heroine in an oversize font. While her mother sews, Olivia's beloved green-and-red toy (who makes a comical cameo appearance in a wordless vignette on the endpapers) disappears with the turn of a page. (A clue appears in the lower right-hand corner of the illustration, where the toy is last seen.) It won't give away the fun to say that Perry the spotted, panting pooch introduced in Olivia and who bears a certain resemblance to the sidekicks in the "Madame Olivia and her Trained Dogs" act in Olivia Saves the Circus plays a bigger role in this episode. Once again Falconer nails common three-year-old parlance and posture. As Olivia shouts, "Where's my toy? It was right there on the bed. I just put it there. I remember exactly. That's my best toy. I need it!" the audience assumes the viewpoint of her mother, staring down into the protagonist's gaping mouth. Though it hardly seems possible, Falconer's visual and verbal narrative talents continue to grow. And so will Olivia's devotees. Ages 3-7.