Julie KraulisCritiques

This book offers a fun view of New York City through the eyes of an armadillo. As he goes through the city in search of lady liberty, there is much to learn about the city. The illustrations are great, and they make the city look magical. I suggest this to anyone who loves New York City or wants to teach their little ones a bit about New York City.

I got this book for my friend's daughter - also a red-headed Pepper. Since my Pepper's mother is a seamstress, this book will help her learn about her mother's work. An absolutely adorable and educational book about different types of fabric patterns!

This is such an interesting premise for a story. Very informative about fabric of all things. I became increasingly enthralled as I read it, albeit slightly bemused as well. Perfect for wannabe fashione designers! So cute. I can see children offering similar responses to Mr. Taylor's pattern questions and it's pretty funny to think about. Funnily enough, one of my least favorite patterns is the one Pepper winds up picking. The ending is also rather clever and amusing.

Being a person who likes to sew, I really enjoyed this book. This is a picture book for children but definitely not young ones, they would not understand the concept. Pepper is getting a dress made for a special occasion. It's the first dress that has ever been made just for her, and she wants it to be perfect. She and her mother head off to the tailor to find material, get measured and make a special dress. The measuring is easy, but choosing a pattern (material) is not. Pepper is particular, and nothing works at first.historical patterns such as houndstooth, tartan, dotted swiss, toile and more. Not only are the patterns shown, but the origin is explained as well. Pepper has a reason to discount every pattern such as too plain, not colourful enough, too busy etc. until she finds paisley. A cute book to teach about patterns as well as about making choices and having reasons for them. At no time did her mother or the tailor try to convince her to choose something she did not like. A cute book with great illustrations. The publisher provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley.

Arlo the Armadillo from Brazil, uses his grandfather Agustin's journals to travel the world. In this book he travels to New York. Each page has a comment from the journal as well as narration of what Arlo sees and does at the same place. This is a great book to read to learn a little about New York City and what there is to see and do there. This is a follow up book to An Armadillo in Paris. It would be a great book to share with children before they travel to New York City on a vacation. The illustrations are a mix of watercolour or pen and ink drawings with Arlo the Armadillo superimposed on each one.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

In the Big Apple of New York City, Arlo is making friends with everything and everyone he sees. Taking in all the beauty that New York has to offer this curious armadillo. He is seeing all the big spots. He is on a search for the Lady Liberty. Lady Liberty was a beacon of light to many travelers coming to America when it was a functioning lighthouse.

A picture book about Arlo, an armadillo from Brazil who travels and visits all of the landmarks. See also An Armadillo in New York.

Received from netgalley...

Pepper is in search of a new dress for a special occasion. What pattern will she choose? There are many different fabrics and patterns. Some fabric patterns are explained. Cute story for girls and pretty illustrations!

ADORABLE book with simply gorgeous illustrations. A Pattern for Pepper teaches readers about various types of patterns and their origins in an entertaining and sweet way. I loved learning some new things about patterns, and my toddler loved the sweet flow of the story and the beautiful illustrations. And who knows, maybe he learned something too!

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley.

Readers become acquainted with different textiles and their backgrounds, from herringbone to paisley, as Pepper visits the tailor to get a dress made for a special occasion with her grandmother. Browse your home closets with your kids to find those very textiles.

Pepper is getting ready for a special occasion and, as part of that, she gets to pick out a new dress for herself. Not just any old dress though -- this one will be custom made with a fabric of Pepper's own choosing. The tailor walks her through a number of available choices, explaining the background behind each type of patterned fabric.

This is a sweet book with no real conflict or overarching moral/lesson, just a little girl having to make a decision about what suits her best. The history of the different patterns was informative and traversed the globe. However, there was a serious dearth of diversity in the characters named and illustrated. The text relies heavily on dialogue, with some loosely repetitive phrases.

Overall, this was a pleasant enough read but not one that I'm rushing out to recommend; I don't even have a particular interest in re-reading it like with so many other picture books.½

Arlo the armadillo (why an armadillo I wonder) follows in his grandfather's footsteps on his first visit to Paris. He is there to meet the mysterious "Iron Lady". Clues from his grandfather's journal are combined with visual clues in the oil and graphite illustrations, leading Arlo on a tour of Paris, visiting many landmarks along the way.

The charming illustrations are sweet, dreamy, and fun with bright splashes of color. The cover is very attractive (who can resist a bright red sports car?) and a good introduction to a lovely book.

It's not often that you come across a children's picture book that has so many amazing unique elements to it - it's soothing storytelling not only gives you the main character's good-natured adventure and are emotionally invested in the outcome, but you will also learn things that you will not soon forget! And when I say "you" I mean whomever is reading the book - whether you're a child, parent, teacher, etc.

In A PATTERN FOR PEPPER, Pepper is in need of a new dress for a special occasion so her mother takes her to their family tailor, who is conveniently named Mr. Taylor - which may have been done purposely for the young reader to remember and relate Mr. Taylor to his job as a tailor, but made me and my boys giggle at the coincidence... Mr. Taylor is determined to help Pepper find the perfect fabric for her dress and introduces her to many patterns - houndstooth, toile, argyle, and many others. With each pattern that is introduced to Pepper, Mr. Taylor explains what the fabric is, or why and how the pattern got it's name - very fun and informative! I've never given much thought to fabric patterns before, and as someone who comes from a long line of maternal seamstresses you'd think I would have known some of these!

After a few patterns are introduced and Pepper answers as to why none of them would work for her, Mr. Taylor finally finds the perfect fabric for Pepper, and together, they design, cut, piece and sew the dress... in the end, we see Pepper wearing her beautiful new dress to her special occasion and the entire story falls into place...

The illustrations are unbelievably remarkable - soft pencil drawings, and yet memorable and bold. It is hard to explain, but it is as if the illustrator poured their heart into each and every stroke of their pencil... and considering that this story was inspired by the author's mother and grandmother, I'm guessing that I may be right on this feeling...

What I loved most about this book is that if you pay attention to ALL of the illustrations, Mr. Taylor's explanations and stories of each pattern and all the little details that one may miss the first time reading, there is underlying story that you can also piece together - and it is the sweetest thing to see how everything in this book ties together so beautifully! Which will make you want to re-read the story, over and over again to feel the love and warmth of it all.

A definite favorite for those who love to sew, loves clothes, pattern, history or just a thoughtful and engaging story to share with someone they adore!

*A hardcover copy was sent to me by the publisher, Tundra Books, for an honest review.
All thoughts here are my own.

A fascinating book for the adult reader. I LOVED reading this book to my kids. The illustrations popped and the story was just fun. The kids haven't asked for a re-read yet, but I still really enjoyed it.

This is a great book to introduce all the interesting places around New York City and facts about the Statue of Liberty. Written in two parts, the first is a diary from Arlo's grandfather and the second the story of Arlo's journey. Very special. Makes you want to take a visit. Love it.

An Armadillo in New York is a picture book about Arlo, a young armadillo, who follows his grandfather's travel journal through the major sights of New York City. The drawings are modest and the story is more of a lap/go at your own pace book and not one really suitable for out-loud or group reading. I can see this being a good book for fans of armadillos or young readers looking to learn about New York City. The book also includes a section in the back about some of the different places Arlo visits.

Arlo is a young armadillo with an itch to travel given to him by his grandfather. Arlo follows his grandfather's travel journal to explore New York City site by site including the Guggenheim Museum, food trucks, Central Park, and the Lincoln Center. The highlight of the trip is meeting Lady Liberty, the Statue of Liberty. This book is good to share with a young reader when dreaming about or planning a trip to New York City.½

Arlo is a very cute little armadillo (from Brazil - which I did not realize had armadillos), who loves to travel.  Author/illustrator Julie Kraulis' first book had him traveling to Paris, this one takes him to New York City.

Arlo's grandfather Augustin wrote travel journals that help Arlo plan his trips.  The journals refer to a "Lady Liberty" Arlo will meet, with lots of information about her.  Some of the references, though, are a bit vague ("she has had a few opera cameos"?  "often spotted at the [Yankees baseball] games"?).  The book ends with Arlo gazing up at the statue of liberty (in a double-page spread that is oriented at 90 degrees), plus a few additional facts about the statue.

This book reminds me of the old series of "This Is..." travel books by M. (Miroslav) Sasek that I loved growing up, as well as the Bluebonnet the Armadillo series by Mary Brooke Casad, featuring an armadillo traveling to interesting spots in my home state of Texas.

The author used oil paint and graphite pencil in her illustrations.  The inside of the dust jacket doubles as a poster promoting the book.

© Amanda Pape - 2016

[I received this hardbound book though the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.  It will be added to my university library's collection.]½

This book combines a passionate curiosity about the world with gorgeous illustrations. I love NYC and it was so fun to explore the city with Arlo. The book also includes facts about the Statue of Liberty that make the story educational as well as fun. I immediately looked for a copy of the aithor's other book, which is set in Paris.½

This book was nice and the pictures were beautiful, but my 4 year old didn't find it very engaging. I would consider recommending it if someone was heading to New York for the first time to help a child preview some of the sights they were going to see, but the search for the Statue of Liberty was kind of abstract to be the driving force in the book.

I received this book as part of the LibraryThing EarlyReviewer Program. I had previously really liked An Armadillo in Paris, and was looking forward to this newest book in the series. I am sorry to say I was disappointed. Although the illustration style and proficiency was at the same level as before, the wonderful details were mostly lacking. In the Paris book, Arlo the Armadillo was going to see the great Iron Lady, who we knew would end up being the Eiffel Tower, and as readers we kept seeing the tower's motif everywhere - reflections in windows, dress designs, etc. It made the book delightful and added to the suspense - when would he see the tower? In the NYC book, the mysterious lady is the Statue of Liberty, but she isn't hidden throughout the book. Only once does she appear off in the distance when he's up in a tower. But none of those clever little add-ins. It kindof felt like we'd just moved to what might be one of those series of books where there's one for every town and they all feel rather the same. I hope Kraulis ups her game for the next book because the Paris book was great.

This is a charming picture book about an armadillo named Arlo who goes to New York City at the suggestion of his grandfather. The grandfather has mentioned Lady Liberty often in his travel notes so Arlo is particularly keen to meet her.

Very attractive illustrations in oil and graphite enhance the story and the facts about the Statue of Liberty at the end make it a useful book for the classroom.