Maria the Matador by Anne Lambelet

Abstract

Reviewed by: Maria the Matador by Anne Lambelet Elizabeth Bush Lambelet, Anne Maria the Matador; written and illus. by Anne Lambelet. Page Street, 2019 [32p] ISBN 978-1-62414-656-5 $17.99 Reviewed from galleys R 4-7 yrs Maria is a mannerly, well-behaved little girl who loves tea parties and dancing and pigtails, except when it comes to churros—then decorum goes out the window. She’s not above swiping churros from the plates of her toy tea party guests, or even entering a bullfight to win a lifetime supply of churros, which will be awarded to the matador who lasts longest in the arena. Not fast enough, not strong enough, not big enough to compete with the pros, Maria takes inspiration from outdoor fiesta posters to identify a strategic advantage, and when she enters the arena, she asks the bull to dance. “After years of being battered and bullied by every matador he’d ever met,” the bull is delighted to cut a rug to the applause of an appreciative crowd, and to share the grand prize with his new friend. This slender story, which clips along at the pace of a well-honed folktale, is notable for its visual brio. Lambelet’s digital and pencil artwork features angular-planed and roughly grained figures in dominant shades of red- and orange-browns suggestive of wood carvings; the delicacy with which bull and matador stretch, arc, and vogue through their performance will set picture-book viewers swaying in their seats. Pass around the capes, and ¡Baila! Copyright © 2019 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois