I loved everything about
Olivia. Falconer's simple color scheme - black, grey, white, and red - works with the excellent drawings. The vibrant red screams at you off the page every time it comes up!
I loved watching our toddler Sigourney's reaction to Olivia's actions. She giggled repeatedly. Olivia's behavior and personality are so familiar! Trying on every stitch of clothing in the house, getting a well-deserved time out, refusing to sleep, motoring about with a seemingly endless supply of energy - our family's right in the midst of that stage now. Exhausting! That's why the final exchange between Mom and Olivia is so perfect:
MOM: "You know, you really wear me out. But I love you anyway."
OLIVIA: "I love you anyway too."
Clearly Falconer has direct knowledge of such exchanges. It's this first-hand experience combined with his artistic skill that lifts
Olivia from good to Caldecott-great.