An Inspiring Jane Austen Biography for Children!
Illustrated by: Jen Corace
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Source: Review Copy from Publisher
After reading and greatly admiring Lisa Pliscou’s attractive and enchanting biography of Jane Austen’s childhood in Young Jane Austen, I was delighted to learn that she has published a picture book biography for elementary grade students titled, Brave Jane Austen: Reader, Writer, Author, Rebel. In this charming and comprehensive book, Ms. Pliscou highlights many of the significant events in Jane Austen’s life: such as her education, writing and publishing efforts, and the men in her life.
Weaved into the story are historical context and expectations for a young woman who lived during Jane Austen’s time. In a subtle yet direct manner Ms. Pliscou shows many examples of how Jane Austen was brave and a bit of a rebel! I greatly appreciated seeing a portrayal of Jane Austen that accentuates her bravery. For she was indeed courageous, independent, and forward-thinking. Through this tale young readers, who are used to our modern rights and freedoms, will be able to grasp how during Jane Austen’s life it was unique and almost unthinkable for a woman to have a profession, write novels, or remain single. While there might be an aspect or two of Jane Austen’s life that young readers may not understand, hopefully this will prompt them to ask questions and engage them in conversations about Jane Austen’s life and times.
The watercolor illustrations by Jen Corace splendidly enhance this inspiring retelling of Jane Austen’s life. With each page there is a medley of beautiful colors, details, and textures that cannot help but catch the reader’s eye and make them pause to take in all the elements of the illustration’s design. Two of my favorite pages are one that is a series of silhouettes depicting Jane Austen engaged in various activities and another that shows Jane Austen in bed under the patchwork quilt she made with her mother and sister (which is now on display at Chawton Cottage). On every page there are delicate prints, fine details, and variety of colors and shapes that are simply wonderful to behold.
With some lovely supplementary material in the back providing even more information of Jane Austen’s life, this book is a complete and thorough introduction to Jane Austen for young readers. Skillfully written and gracefully illustrated, Brave Jane Austen is an inspiring and captivating look at how anyone, no matter what humble beginnings they come from, can grow up to accomplish extraordinary achievements. I highly recommend!
With the magnificent illustrations in Brave Jane Austen by Jen Corace, I thought my review would not be complete without showing a little video preview. I hope you enjoy!
(my apologies for the shakiness!!!)
What a lovely review for a lovely book! I also enjoyed the video. This will be a purchase I will be making this year! Thank you!
Thanks for checking out my review, Carole! It truly is a lovely book! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
This looks so wonderful! great video, too.
denise
Thank you, Denise! I appreciate your kind words!
Her Young Jane Austen was fabulous. I love the illustrations and subject matter. Thanks for doing the video/review, Meredith!
I agree, Sophia! I’m so glad she wrote another story about Jane Austen! I think it would be awesome if this were part of a series that told the story of many remarkable and inspiring figures.
Oh-My-Goodness Meredith… that video was delightful and I loved that music that you chose to accompany the experience. It was so appropriate. I don’t think an ebook would suffice… this is a tactile experience and those drawings are exquisite. Thank you for sharing this post in this manner. Say hello to Mr. Bingley for me.
Thank you my sweet friend! I love that soundtrack it is one of my favorite!!! So glad you liked it as I’m not the best at making movies! 😉 I agree, the book is rather large (almost 12 inches wide) and the illustrations are just so wonderful to see up close!
Thank you for the lovely video-enhanced review! It’s such a pleasure when a physical book rises to the standard of its contents. I’m looking forward to seeing this.
Well said, Abigail! This one’s definitely the complete package!
So cute. I need this book.
It definitely is! I’m so happy to own it!
My goodness, that book is GORGEOUS! Lisa Pliscou’s previous book is lovely too, worth having in paperback as an ebook wouldn’t do it justice. I think this one looks even more charming. I think my daughter would love it. I am so glad you reviewed it, as I was curious to see what it looked like inside.
My pleasure, Ceri! I’m so glad the review was helpful! I’m sure your daughter will enjoy this – she is the perfect age for it! I wish I could read it to one of my nieces and see their reactions but they live too far away…maybe when they come visit!
I want to get this for my kids! What a great idea!
I’m sure you will all enjoy it! I agree! 🙂
Nice book about courage, motivating children.