Plot Summary

 

     Goldilicious is written and illustrated by Victoria Kann. It is the third and latest book from the "LICIOUS" series. It was published June 01, 2009.  Goldilicious is a picture book and its genre is fiction and fantasy. The book is fiction because the story is made up, it is not realistic. It's fantasy if you view the book from a child's perspective. In the book Pinkalicious has a pet unicorn that can do human like things; this is what makes the book a fantasy.

     Goldilicious is about the quirky character Pinkalicious of course. In this book she has a pet unicorn named Goildilicious, but she calls her Goldie for short. Her mom calls Goldie Pinkalicious' imaginary friend, but she thinks the unicorn is real. She takes Goldilicious outside to play, where they rollerskate, do ballet, have a tea party and also play hide-and-seek. Pinkalicious' younger brother Peter joins in on the fun and begins to play with Goldie as well. This book is great for children when they was to use their imagination. Read the rest of the book to find out how their day with Goldilicious ends.

 

Textual Elements

 

Setting:The story first takes place inside Pinkalicious' mother's house in the living room. It then moves outside in their yard. The story ends up back in the house inside Pinkalicious' room.

 

 

Characters: Pinkalicious- The main character. Pinkalicious is a very happy girl with a huge imagination. She likes to have fun no matter who is around.

Peter- Pinkalicious' little brother. Peter is the usual annoying little brother, who deeps down loves his older sister and wants to hang with her. Mommy- The mother of Pinkalicious and Peter

 

Point of view- The story is based of Pinkalicious' narrations, along with quotes from her mother and little brother Peter.

 

Theme- The main theme of this story is using your imagination. Throughout the entire book Pinkalicious is having a great time with her invisible unicorn Goldie. At the beginning of the story Pinkalicious introduces Goldie to her mother and her mother says, "What unicorn? I don't see any unicorn." Pinkalicious responds with, "She's right here and she's not just ANY unicorn, she's my unicorn." This shows that Pinkalicious uses her imagination to the fullest and that is it is very important to her. She even convinces her little brother Peter to believe in Goldie.

 

 

Artistic Elements 

 

 

     The author Victoria Kann is very talented. She is the writer of this picture book as well as the illustrator. Kann did a great job with the illustration. The pictures in the book are full bleed and she used bright colors throughout the story to keep the reader attentive.  Kann uses a outline/cartoon style of art with  basic shapes to create the features on all other the characters in her story. Just like the other books in the "Licious" series the art is very girly and the color pink along with many other pastel colors are constantly used throughout the entire book, which definitely creates a happy mood for the book.

     Without the illustration in the story the story would not be the same. The illustration in the book reflects and extends the text. The pictures bring the story to life and helps with expanding the readers imagination. The illustration provides a richer, broader context that words alone cannot convey. The text is always on the bottom centered on the page, usually the right page. That is because Kann really wants the readers to indulge in the illustration instead of just the text. The illustration definitely supports the text in this book.

 

 

Analysis and Critique

 

     Goldilicious is a great book. I think that it is a very fun, cute, girly book to read. I would recommend this book to any little girl who loves to explore their imagination. I don;t think that it is necessarily a message in this story, but I do think the Kann's purpose was to just create a fun book for little girls to escape to a fantasy world. I believe the main idea is to teach kids that it is okay to use your imagination while having fun. I guess you can say that the message the "Licious" series conveys is to just be yourself.

     Although the book is pretty much innocent, but like many other books there are some concerns that can be raised. For instance at the beginning of the story the house is a mess and the mother has a broom in her hand trying to clean up. Which is also the reason why Pinkalicious and her younger brother Peter have to go outside to play. There is no father in the beginning of the story while mom is cleaning. At the end of the story it gets dark and it is time for the children to come inside, the illustrator shows the mother as well as her father. One would have the assumption that Pinkalicous' mother is a stay at home mom during the day while her father works at night. Just a thought! Also at the end of the book Pinkalicious is very much rude to her parents when asked to come inside. This can be negative for the sales of the book. What parent wants their child to read a book and the main character is disrespectful? Overall I personally really enjoyed reading the book.

 

 

Citation

Picture Book Citation

Kann, Victoria. Goldilicious. Illus. Victoria Kann. New York, NY: HaperCollins Publisher, 2009.

One Author (No Illustrator)

Last Name, First Name. Book Title. City of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication.

 

 

References

Will need to look up format for the type of source used.