The boy and the wild blue girl

Keith Negley

Book - 2020

"Everyone thought the wild blue girl was a nuisance. Everyone, that is, but Poul. This is a clever and inspiring story of how curiosity and observation can bring about change in the world."--Amazon.

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jE/Negley
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Subjects
Genres
Picture books
Published
New York, NY : Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers [2020]
Language
English
Main Author
Keith Negley (author)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations ; 29 cm
Audience
Ages 4-8.
ISBN
9780062846808
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

The titular "wild blue girl"--differentiated from the townspeople by her blue complexion--bursts through the world, shoving back bystanders, blowing out birthday candles, and scattering leaves, much to the consternation of everyone . . . except young Poul. Determined to show the world her potential, he launches a massive construction project in the middle of town. It's something tall and new that ultimately captures the attention and awe of the townspeople when the completed wind turbine blows the wild blue girl through the sky. This simple tale was inspired by the work of Danish scientist Poul la Cour, "who built one of the first electricity-generating wind turbines." Negley's pencil and cut-paper illustrations rely on white space to make bright colors pop, with newspaper clippings used to make up the fabric of the world, reinforcing a message of sustainability. The text, however--including the more detailed back matter--doesn't delve into any science, providing only a basic introduction to the concept of harnessing wind and leaving it to grown readers to provide further education.

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

Negley (Mary Wears What She Wants) animates his exploration of early wind power with breezy energy, drawing the wind as an exuberant blue girl in dungarees whose perpetual motion blows hats off, scatters leaves and flowers, and tangles kite strings: "Everyone thought the wild blue girl was a nuisance." Crisp, confident colored pencil and collage artwork shows townspeople with their hair awry and their clothing askew as the girl tears through with a friendly smile on her face. A boy named Poul sees her worth, understanding the possibilities that her power offers: "We just need to show them." She stands right next to him as he studies the problem in various ways, then erects a great tower above the town's buildings. Once the propellers are up, the wild blue girl takes to the air, and the townspeople stare open mouthed with amazement as the blades begin spinning. Negley has a gift for distilling action into kinetic lines and figures; though readers won't come away with an understanding of how wind turbines work, this maker story conveys the excitement of discovery and the simplicity of Poul's innovative idea. An afterword gives further details about Poul la Cour, a 19th-century Danish inventor. Ages 4--8. (Apr.)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Horn Book Review

Somewhat obliquely, Negley personifies the wind as a "wild blue girl." Here, the feral youngster speeds about, uncontrollable, all throughout Denmark. Rather than reacting with exasperation, a boy named Poul (who is in fact Danish scientist and inventor Poul la Cour, as we learn in the back matter) attempts to harness her energy, which he finally does with the invention of the first wind turbine, thus generating electricity for his small village. The breezy mixed-media illustrations visually fly across the pages, with leaves and kites and flowers falling victim to the chaos and commotion the wild blue girl creates. These single pages and double-page spreads slow down the pace as Poul initially plans how to control the wind, and Negley uses spot art to depict the first steps in Poul's process of invention. As Poul builds his newfangled contraption in the village square, the townspeople wonder what it could be; they soon find out as illustrations morph from the bulky lines of the original structure to the sleek lines of the modern turbine. This unusually metaphorical fact-inspired picture book concludes with an author's note and archival photograph of the adult Poul la Cour. Betty Carter May/June 2020 p.106(c) Copyright 2020. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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

Who's gusting around town and cheerfully blowing things hither and yon?Poul's "curious about the wild blue girl." Poul, a redheaded white boy, stands holding a pinwheel while another kid disappears off the page nearbysomeone with streaming blue hair and blue pants with blue suspenders. In fact, everything about her is blue, including her big blue grin and the blue rosiness of her cheeks (her skin is the white of the background paper). She's the same size as Poul, but her strength and influence aren't: Everywhere she goes, hats and flowers blow away, hair gusts sideways, and no pile of leaves is safe. The townspeople, a multiracial group, consider her "a nuisance," but Poul adores her and sets out researching her powers, "study[ing] and measure[ing], test[ing] and buil[ding]." He erects a windmillfor she is, of course, the wind. Negley's watercolor pencils and cut-paper collage (of solid paper, patterned paper, and newsprint) create a breezy, buoyant setting with ample air and an exuberant feeling even during the (mild) chaos. The text never identifies the wild blue girl as the wind, but readers will get it. However, what they won't understand, unless they already know about windmills, is the turbine Poul builds. The art shows turbines, but neither art nor text explains a thing about them (until the author's note introduces 19th-century Danish scientist/inventor Poul la Cour).This celebration of renewable power is all about the manic pixie wind girl. (historical photograph) (Picture book. 3-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.