Review by Booklist Review
More than a decade before Disney's Snow White, German filmmaker Lotte Reiniger created her own full-length animated film, The Adventures of Prince Achmed, using paper-cutting and silhouette puppetry. Hartman introduces this influential filmmaker and her signature technique through occasionally stilted rhymes that leave details vague, especially about her fleeing and returning to Germany in the midst of WWII. For instance, "They ordered Lotte to make new puppets / Puppets made to fright and scare" sums up Lotte's order to produce propaganda films for the German government. What does beg this picture-book biography to be shared are Carr's striking illustrations in Reiniger's style. Enchanting black silhouettes filled with magical creatures--fairies, flying horses, mythical birds, and more--contrast against lit backgrounds. Words are almost unnecessary as this is where the book's details and charm shine. A concluding author's note fills in the gaps of Lotte's story, while a time line of some of her films serves as a key to the illustrations. An intriguing look at a once overlooked female artist.Women in Focus: The 19th in 2020
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The story of groundbreaking animator Lotte Reiniger. "Long before a cartoon mouse, / Or Snow White found a little house, / There was a girl named Charlotte." No geography or dates are noted--this White girl named Lotte could be growing up anywhere. Lotte loves cinema; it's magic to her. She wants to create it herself. Using scissors, paper, and string, she snips out fairy-tale puppets--"Cinderella, always sweeping. / A beauty in a castle, sleeping"--and, with a camera, a lamp, and a pane of glass, she invents a form of stop-motion animation. Reiniger becomes a groundbreaking artist and filmmaker. Carr's artwork echoes Reiniger's style, highlighting crisp, black silhouettes. Hartman tucks rhyming verse between unrhymed lines, making for an awkward read-aloud: "At last, Lotte was ready for the cinema. / Ready for magic! / Her paper puppets danced and swayed. / Music played a serenade. / Lights wink-wink-winked." A single illustration of Reiniger's multiplane camera doesn't explain its workings (backmatter does); disappointingly, Reiniger is framed more as magic-maker than brilliant artist and technician. Even her obstacles are fairy-tale--like: "A man rose up in Lotte's land. / With twisted words, he clenched his hand / And made demands / That he command / All magic." That "man" is Hitler--someone wanting to command more than, um, magic?--but he, the Nazis, and World War II aren't identified until the backmatter. Too much fairy tale and too little biography. (author's note, artist's note, timeline of films, bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 5-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
