Woolf-ish

Having studied Virginia Woolf as an undergraduate, I was pleased to see a children's book titled Virginia Wolf on the library endcap. I picked it up and discovered that Kyo Maclear, the author, was inspired by Virginia Woolf and her sister, painter Vanessa Bell. 

"One day my sister Virginia woke up feeling wolfish," Vanessa tells us on the opening page. Lightly painted in color by Isabelle Arsenault, the first illustration features a smashed alarm clock and wolf ears peeking out of the bed clothes. Vanessa describes how her sister's mood brings the whole house down: "bright became dim and glad became gloom." As we turn the pages, the pale washes of color darken to stark blacks and whites. Vanessa tries to cheer Virginia up but is unsuccessful. Finally,Virginia tells her about a place that would brighten her mood: Bloomsberry. Soon, Vanessa has painted the walls, and black and white blossoms into turquoise birds and purple butterflies. Seeing the vivid world, Virginia is ready once again to go outside and play. 

Sold on both story and pictures, I snuck the book into my daughter's already sagging book bag. I thought it may have been skipped over or ignored, but she brought it in just now and said, "Mommy, can I read this to you?" Not only do I love hearing her confidence in reading, but I also love hearing her asides as she flips the pages. "See, you get a surprise at the end," she said on the last page. When her brother didn't understand the surprise, she explained, "See how she looks like a wolf, but she's actually a girl with a bow. You think she's a wolf sister but then she's a girl."