A Present for Mrs. Kazinski. Marilynn Reynolds. Illustrated by Lynn Smith-Ary. Victoria, BC: Orca, 2001. 32 pp., pbk. & cl., $8.95 (pbk.), $19.95 (cl.). ISBN 1-55143-198-X (pbk.), ISBN 1-55143-196-3 (cl.). Subject Heading: Kitchens-Juvenile fiction. Kindergarten-grade 3 / Ages 5-8. Review by Catherine Hoyt *** /4

excerpt:

Mrs. Kazinski and Frank were best friends, and he often climbed the dark attic steps to visit her. They drank cups of tea with lots of milk and sugar, and Mrs. Kazinski showed him her photograph album with pictures of herself when she was a little girl. Every Saturday afternoon she got all dressed up and took Frank to the movies on Commercial Drive. Frank liked her best of all the people in the house, next to his mother.

A Present for Mrs. Kazinski is another example of award-winning author Marilynn Reynolds' fine work. Frank lives with his mother in small apartment house which they share with lots of colourful characters. Fashionable waitress Rose lives in the front room, a flower loving Captain Pittaway lives on the second floor, and Frank's best friend, Mrs. Kazinski, lives in the attic. When Mrs. Kazinski decides to throw herself an 80th birthday party, Frank wants to get her a very special birthday present. Everyone has ideas for Frank, but none of them seem special enough. Even when Frank tries to make a special present, it just doesn't seem good enough. Then Frank has an idea, but he becomes so attached to the gift he chooses for Mrs. Kazinski that it hurts a
little to give it away. Frank realizes how much his gift will mean to his friend, and he is pleased with her response. All of the party guests bring Mrs. Kazinski lovely gifts, but Frank knows that his unselfish gift means the most to his best friend. Illustrator Lynn Smith-Ary does a great job presenting these colourful characters to the reader. Her warm, richly illustrated scenes breath life into this inner city community of the mid-twentieth century. This is lovely story about friendship and giving. A Present for Mrs. Kazinski could easily be used in theme based programs on friendship or birthdays.

Catherine Hoyt is the Curator of the Eileen Wallace Children's Literature Collection at the
University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB..

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

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Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364

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