Product Description

This is a prayer for a blueberry girl . . .

A much-loved baby grows into a young woman: brave, adventurous, and lucky. Exploring, traveling, bathed in sunshine, surrounded by the wonders of the world. What every new parent or parent-to-be dreams of for her child, what every girl dreams of for herself.

Let me go places that we've never been, trust and delight in her youth.

Nationally bestselling author Neil Gaiman wrote Blueberry Girl for a friend who was about to become the mother of a little girl. Here, he and beloved illustrator Charles Vess turn this deeply personal wish for a new daughter into a book that celebrates the glory of growing up: a perfect gift for girls embarking on all the journeys of life, for their parents, and for everyone who loves them.

Give her all these and a little bit more, gifts for a blueberry girl.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4166 in Books
• Published on: 2009-03-01
• Released on: 2009-03-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 32 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780060838089
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
In a magical blessing for unconventional girls, Gaiman (The Graveyard Book) addresses the ladies of light and ladies of darkness and ladies of never-you-mind, asking them to shelter and guide an infant girl as she grows. Help her to help herself,/ help her to stand,/ help her to lose and to find./ Teach her we're only as big as our dreams./ Show her that fortune is blind. Sinuous, rococo lines—the flowing hair, drooping boughs, winding paths that inspired the pre-Raphaelites—spread their tendrils throughout Vess's (The Ladies of Grace Adieu) full-bleed spreads, potent mixtures of the charms of Arthur Rackham, Maxfield Parrish and Cecily Barker's flower fairies. An Art Nouveau–ish font in a blueberry color compounds the sense of fantasy. On each page a different girl—short, tall, white, brown, younger, older—runs or jumps or swims, accompanied by animals meant to guard and protect her. Fans of Gaiman and Vess will pounce on this creation; so too will readers who seek for their daughters affirmation that sidesteps traditional spiritual conventions. All ages. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal
PreS Up—Gaiman and Vess worked together on Stardust (HarperCollins, 2000), the award-winning fantasy that became a film in 2007. One can count on them for a fresh approach to the conventions of a genre. This New Age "prayer" for a yet-to-be-born child is no exception, although the combination of a picture-book format with concepts that require adult understanding may cause confusion or boredom in youngsters ("Keep her from…./Nightmares at three or bad husbands at thirty,/…. Dull days at forty, false friends at fifteen-"). Visually, the book also struggles with a split personality. One scene, in which animals peer at a girl in jeans and dreadlocks, is rendered in watercolor, defined by clean outlines, for a contemporary, realistic look. Another view of naked babies sleeping in flower petals is created with a hazy focus, calling to mind Jessie Willcox Smith or Elsa Beskow's Peter in Blueberry Land (Floris, 1988). The dedication indicates that this poem was written for a pregnant friend; it seeks to ward off all sorts of fairy-tale trouble: "Ladies of light and ladies of darkness and ladies of never-you-mind…. Keep her from spindles and sleeps at sixteen/Let her stay waking and wise." The "ladies" are draped in clouds and cloaks, sunsets and rainbows. The racial characteristics, hair color, and age of the girl change from page to page, presumably for an "everygirl" effect. This may resonate with people purchasing baby presents, as Seuss's Oh, the Places You'll Go! (Random, 1990) strikes a chord at graduation. The card, however, should read "Mother."—Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
"It is astonishingly lovely." (Cookie Magazine )

"A rich and beautiful prayer for a girl. .There is nothing cute or cloying here, just beauty, balance and joy." (Kirkus Reviews )

"Fans of Gaiman and Vess will pounce on this creation; so too will readers who seek for their daughters affirmation that sidesteps traditional spiritual conventions." (Publishers Weekly )

Customer Reviews

simply lovely
The lilt of the rhyme, the excellence of the message for girls and future women, the gentle, beautiful illustrations...these are the reasons that I'll be buying this book for many new moms and young girls. This simple, short poem/story uses good sense, good balance, and good vocabulary. I'm not much of a book reviewer, but, as they say, I know what I like. This goes into the same category as "Oh, The Places You'll Go" as a go-to book as a gift, with a special emphasis on girls. It was clearly written and illustrated by people with a loving respect for the women in their lives. I didn't look at how much of the book is available in preview, but even if the whole book is there, it's still one that I'm glad I have in hardcover...it will be shared, and shared, and shared.

A Gift for My Daughter
I am reluctant to give this book up.

It's Neil Gaiman, and that means words: good words. It's Charles Vess, and that means art: beautiful art.

It's also for girls and women and probably other feminine creatures, and I don't qualify for any of those titles.

However, my daughter... now, for my daughter, this is the perfect gift. Its inspiration and encouragement will be there for her, give her something to look through and keep in mind when I'm not right there to say all the sorts of inspirational and encouraging things a father can say to his daughter. Maybe, when she reads it, she will smile and think kindly of all the times I've said something similar, and maybe, just maybe, she won't roll her eyes like she would when I say those things...

She's nearly a teenager now, and the only problem I really see with this book is that it wasn't around a decade or so ago so I could read it to her over and over through the years...

A beautiful gift
I just had to take one look at the sample page and I was completely captivated by the beautiful language and the amazing illustrations. I've already given this book away as a gift four times.

The prayer for the Blueberry Girl contains well-wishes that every little girl everywhere in the world should be blessed with. And I dare say these lines will be uplifting and inspiring even for some not-so-little girls.

I also love the illustrations. They are enchanting and intricate, with many colourful details that are just waiting to be discovered. It's a perfect book for mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers reading with and to their little girls.

I am certain that this will turn into one of those magical books that stay treasured and beloved for a life-time and beyond.