ISABELLE AND THE ANGEL GEB - Hardcover

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE Regan McMahon A Parisian pig is the protagonist in Isabelle and the Angel by Thierry Magnier and illustrator Georg Hallensleben (Chronicle; 32 pages; $14.95; ages 3-6). Originally published in French, it tells the story of Isabelle, who "liked to play with her food"--creating paintings out of pink cake and strawberry jam. This unconventional artist loves conventional art as well, going to the Louvre every day to gaze at her favorite painting, which features a little angel in the corner. One day the angel comes out of the painting to play with Isabelle and give her a tour of the museum. Isabelle misses her friend when she's back home. She knows the angel can never leave the museum, so she must find a way to be there all day every day. Her solution is at once unusual and practical. Isabelle and the Angel is a slight, offbeat story with a quirky European sensibility, enriched by Hallensleben's moody oil paintings--a Twilight Zone episode for the preschool set.

Isabelle is lonesome and bored. When she's not painting with pink cake and strawberry jam, she goes to the Museum where she gazes at her favorite paintingthe one of the little Angel. Isabelle is smitten. And when the object of her affection comes to life one day, she discovers what it is she's been longing for all along. Georg Hallensleben's wonderfully lush illustrations enrich this sweet story about a contemplative pig named Isabelle who finds friends hip and a surefire cure for boredom all in one place.