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Katie’s Picture Show

A gold emblem on the cover proclaims, “Celebrating 25 years of Katie!”  It’s published in Australia and set in London, so perhaps there are children in one or both of those countries who would know who Katie is, but unfortunately, there’s nothing in the book to give us any background on who Katie is or why we’re supposed to celebrate her.  The story opens with Katie and her grandmother visiting London’s National Gallery, and when Grandma needs to rest she sends Katie off to explore on her own. The plot consists of Katie ignoring the “Please do not touch” signs and jumping into one famous painting after another, snatching a piece of pie from one, sharing a cup of tea in another, playing with another child in another, playing with a tiger, and falling through an abstract before being rescued by the museum guard.  I’m sure it would make a great souvenir for children visiting this museum, and it might make a good introduction before a class were to take a field trip to a museum.  As a general interest read it’s okay, if perhaps a little flat.