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Lessac, Frane
15 Reviews
(3)
PS
Illustrated by
Frané Lessac.
Sorell and Lessac's picture book We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga (rev. 11/18) took readers through a Cherokee extended family's year. Now, in this sturdy boxed set of board books, each book focuses on a different season. The family plays in the leaves in Fall / Uligohvsdi, listens to elders tell stories in Winter / Gola, plants a garden in Spring / Gogeyi, and watches Auntie play stickball in Summer / Gogi. The brief (rewritten) text captions Lessac's homey, jewel-toned illustrations (sampled from the original picture book) on chunky pages in a universal, but culturally specific, journey through the year. For other celebrations of heritage from Black and Jewish creators, respectively, explore Your Legacy Begins: First Words to Empower (Abrams Appleseed) by Schele Williams, illustrated by Tonya Engel, and I Like Your Chutzpah: And Other Yiddish Words You'll Like (Rise/Penguin Workshop) by Suzy Ultman.
(1)
K-3
Illustrated by
Frané Lessac.
In this informational picture book by the team behind We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga (rev. 11/18), a diverse group of students and families are headed to (the fictional) Native Nations Community School for Indigenous People's Day presentations. Each spread depicts a different student's report on a subject significant to Native people's experience since the late 1800s. Topics include assimilation, allotment, termination, language revival, and more; although these are dense and complex areas, Sorell makes them comprehensible for readers through the book's unique format. Each classmate's "presentation" includes a brief summary or definition ("Assimilation: Most U.S. leaders did not respect our ways and thought it would be better for us to adopt their beliefs and practices") with a handful of supporting details. Every presentation concludes with the line: "We are still here!" Warm gouache illustrations help support the historical context while personalizing the contemporary setting. This book provides information that is omitted from most curricula ("Most people do not know what happened to Native Nations and our citizens after treaty making stopped in 1871") in an easy-to-understand manner. Above all, the message is reinforced for all readers: Native people are still here. Appended with a glossary, a timeline, sources, and an author's note.
Reviewer: Nicholl Denice Montgomery
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
May, 2021
(1)
K-3
Illustrated by
Frané Lessac.
An extended family engages with activities and traditions that express gratitude and carry on Cherokee history and culture. Simultaneously, the book incorporates modernity and challenges dated images of Indigenous people. Cheerful, richly detailed gouache illustrations in bright, saturated colors cycle through the seasons. The text includes several Cherokee words (their English and Cherokee spellings, phonetic pronunciation, and definition); a complete Cherokee syllabary concludes this attractive and informative book. Glos.
Reviewer: Julie Hakim Azzam
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
November, 2018
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Lessac Frané.
In this traditional tale of the Irula people of Kerala, Pattan and his wife (considered ancestors of the people) and all their animals escape a mountaintop threatened by flooding in a hollowed-out pumpkin and settle in the foothills below. Lessac's richly colored, naive-style gouache paintings beautifully depict the lush South Indian landscape, and the text is just right for reading aloud. An author's note is included.
Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
Frané Lessac.
Much context is needed to make sense of this story set in Australia, Turkey, and Egypt. Spare, elegant text tells of a 1917 battle of the Australian Light Horse Regiments, focusing on the relationship between a lieutenant and his horse, Midnight. Detailed folk art–style paintings add some clarity to the plot, as does an author's note containing historical background and photographs. Bib.
Reviewer: Lauren Causey
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
Frané Lessac.
Clear text (playing second fiddle to the art) describes the 1620 journey from England and the difficulties of establishing a home in the New World. Gouache paintings in deep hues interpret the oft-told story with a folk-art feel; images capturing the ocean voyage, especially one depicting a small ship in the desolate nighttime sea, are particularly arresting. Timeline. Bib.
Reviewer: Amy Lois Cohn
(2)
K-3
Illustrated by
Lessac Frané.
When Jesse discovers his favorite book, The Swiss Family Robinson, on the "Book Boat" (one of the rental library/bookstores that cruised the Erie Canal in the early 1800s), he sets out to earn its price: twenty cents. The way this small drama looms large works well to illuminate the historical setting, which is also nicely evoked in vivid gouache paintings.
Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
May, 2013
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Frané Lessac.
Real-life charlatan "Louis de Rougemont" stunned turn-of-the-twentieth-century London audiences with tales of strange creatures and fantastic adventures. Through the episodic text and folksy gouache illustrations, readers are given a glimpse into the life of this obscure historical figure and his ultimate downfall; epilogue notes suggest that some of Louis's tales were based on fact, leaving readers to ultimately draw their own conclusions. Bib.
Reviewer: Aimee Chevrette Bear
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
Frané Lessac.
Melmed features twenty-six Texas locales, symbols, and historic events, one for each letter of the alphabet (e.g., G for Galveston Island, O for oil wells, V for Viva El Paso!). A singsongy rhyme introduces each topic; paragraphs of related information are presented in tiny type. Lessac's naive-style illustrations are lively without overcrowding the pages.
Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
Frané Lessac.
Jack Simpson was a soldier who, along with his pet donkey, came to the aid of more than three hundred wounded British soldiers on the bloody battlefields of Gallipoli. Though the events can be difficult to follow, the story is poignantly told. Gouache illustrations offer a strong visual sense of the setting. Bib.
Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee
(4)
K-3
Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science series.
Illustrated by
Frané Lessac.
Rockwell's introduction to basic cloud types and the weather associated with them is suitably organized by altitude and reinforced with repetitive text structure and illustrations of major cloud formations. Lessac's folk-art illustrations make the subject approachable, but the fanciful representations of clouds obscure the details needed for proper identification. A decent activity is appended.
Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
Frane Lessac.
Engaging paintings, full of activity and detail, enliven this alphabet book, with its written-to-order rhyming verses. Captions in small print offer lots of facts about Manhattan's attractions and neighborhoods, but the information is too advanced for the ABC crowd. The other boroughs are almost entirely left out, though the Bronx sneaks in on the Z for zoo page.
Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Frane Lessac.
The occasional forced or cheesy rhyme doesn't sink this appealing guide to the nation's capital. Coverage is balanced among monuments (the Lincoln Memorial), museums (Air and Space), agencies (the FBI), and gathering places (Q Street); historical and other details flesh out each attraction. The invitingly unrefined gouache illustrations resemble folk art, and each page has a distinctive layout.
Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Frane Lessac.
This book describes the March weather conditions of seventeen places, from the Arctic to Paris to Central Thailand. The poetic, good-natured text ("Polar bears ride on floes of ice, / stalking seals, / wishing fish") and detailed but unfussy illustrations depicting people and animals enjoying the great outdoors distinguish this book from other kids' primers on weather. An author's note provides additional facts.
Reviewer: Nell Beram
(3)
K-3
This energetic retelling of the Purim story is framed with flat, detailed illustrations that set a "once upon a time" mood. The characterization of King Ahasuerus as a vain, foolish, bad-tempered, but well-meaning man could provoke some discussion. The author's note at the back provides information about the story of Esther and the celebration of Purim.
Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.
15 reviews
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