Joan of Arc: Heroine of France
Gr. 1-4. Eschewing sensationalism, Tompert adds Joan of Arc to her previous biographies of saints Nicholas and Patrick. The "voices" Joan heard urging her to free France from English tyranny naturally play a part in the story, but the telling dwells on the historical rather than the mystical. Tompert does a remarkable job of compressing the turbulent events of twelfth-century France into digestible bites that kids can understand, and her solid writing is well matched by Garland's artwork, which has the look and feel of digital enhancement. The high-gloss effects and interesting perspectives make some of the visuals look as if they are about to jump off the page; the depiction of the burning of Joan is especially vivid and dramatic. Yet, the technical process used for the artwork also results in obviously layered, sometimes fuzzy, images. That's a quibble, however, in a book that gives a fresh treatment to a well-known story.Ilene CooperCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved