Little Nino's pizzeria

Karen Barbour

Book - 1987

Tony likes to help his father at their small family restaurant, but everything changes when Little Nino's Pizzeria becomes a fancier place.

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Subjects
Genres
Picture books
Published
San Diego : Harcourt Brace Jovanovich c1987.
Language
English
Main Author
Karen Barbour (-)
Physical Description
[32] p. : col. ill. ; 27 x 28 cm
ISBN
9780152463212
9780606139755
9780152476502
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

Ages 4-6. Tony's father makes pizza that is so good customers form long lines to get into his tiny store. Tony enjoys helping with the myriad cooking and operational tasks involved in keeping things running smoothly, and the whole family is pleased when a financier offers to back a new, larger enterprise. The elegant Big Nino's soon opens to a booming business. But here, Tony is only in the way, and his father is worn to a frazzle overseeing everything. The family decides the old days were better and goes back to a small-scale business, only this time their new enterprise is christened Little Tony's. Though unpretentiously straightforward, the story is satisfying. However, it is the art that steals the show. Barbour's brash art deco-ish pictures rely on a palette of bright, tropical colors and the striking look of one-dimensional, stylized figures. The scenes are full of visually boisterous activity, with underpinnings of humorous detail and a clear sense of family closeness so important to the story. A decidedly fresh-looking book. DMW. Restaurants, lunchrooms, etc. Fiction / Pizza Fiction / Fathers and sons Fiction [CIP] 86-32006

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Barbour gives us an old-fashioned morality tale for children, rendered in 1980s style. Nino runs a crowded but cheerful pizzeria, ``Little Nino's.'' Tony, his son, gets to help serve the friendly patrons. One day, a portly man in a green suit patterned with dollar signs appears. He and Nino open a chic, expensive ``Big Ninostet,'' and Tony is miserable; when he tries to help, he gets underfoot. Worse, there's a new chef, named Francois, and only snooty couples eat there. Disillusioned, Nino decides to return to his humble but satisfying origins and reopens his old joint, now named ``Little Tony's.'' Tony gets a lesson in the corrupting power of money but narrowly escapes its real world repercussions. Barbour's illustrations are as handsome as the clientele at the upscale restaurant: using a bordered rectangular format, her figures are flattened like Matisse's; crowded together, they make a collage-like field of bright color and lively pattern. But their level of appeal is perhaps more suited to adult book buyers than young readers. And, unfortunately, in Barbour's telling, the characters remain as flat as the stylized pictures. Ages 4-8. (September) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review

K-Gr 2 Although Barbour's pleasant story is only meager fare, her paintings are a visual feast. Young Tony proudly tells of how he helps his father, Nino, in his pizzeria until success causes Nino to open a large, fancy restaurant, where Tony is in the way and Nino is too busy for him. All ends well when Nino misses the smaller operation and reopens his pizzeria. The gouache and watercolor illustrations in wild tropical colors have a kitschy, 1930s look to them and show hommage to many artists of that period. Faces bring Leger to mind; swirling lines and rounded shapes are reminiscent of Matisse; glowing stars and moon recall Chagall. There are also fauvist and cubist influences throughout. Lettering and bold patterns mix with flat blocks of intense color in crowded scenes that express the big city atmosphere through their vitality. The electricity of the paintings will draw children back for a second look, even if the story does not have a comparable impact. David Gale, ``School Library Journal'' (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

A large, lushly illustrated welcome to the lively world of an urban pizzeria--with bold illustrations and a poignant story, Barbour has created an unusual book. Tony's dad, Nino, makes the best pizza in the world. People line up for blocks to get a slice; his pizzeria, Little Nino's, is a favorite among the neighborhood's poor, who receive a share of the leftover pies. Tony is his father's helper, handy with sauce and dough and popular among the patrons. The pizza shop is so successful that one day a rich man (dressed in a green suit covered with dollar signs) buys Nino out and sets him up in a fancy new restaurant, christened Big Nino's. Alas, Big Nino's is such a success that Nino has no time for Tony, or the customers, or the poor. So, to Tony's joy, Nino sells out and returns to the old shop, which he renames Little Tony's. The illustrations, which employ Matisse-like blocks of bright color, make this truly special. There's a European flavor to the pictures and a warmth that underscores Barbour's pithy tale. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.