Ordinary, Extraordinary Jane Austen

Welcome to Perfect Picture Book Friday, Everyone! My picture book recommendation today is…

Ordinary, Extraordinary Jane Austen: The Story of Six Novels, Three Notebooks, a Writing Box, and One Clever Girl, by Deborah Hopkinson (Author), Qin Leng (Illustrator), published by Balzer + Bray, 2018.

Themes/Topics: Jane Austen, Biography, Literature, Classics, Books

Opening: It is a truth universally acknowledged that Jane Austen is one of our greatest writers.

Brief Synopsis (from Amazon): It is a truth universally acknowledged that Jane Austen is one of our greatest writers.

But before that, she was just an ordinary girl.

In fact, young Jane was a bit quiet and shy; if you had met her back then, you might not have noticed her at all. But she would have noticed you.

Why I Like This Book: A great introduction to Jane Austen with lovely, light illustrations.

Links To Resources

—Empire Paper Doll by Mary Lacro Mauritz from Gabi’s Paper Dolls (a Jane Austen-era doll for you to colour)

To find even more awesome picture books (and browse them by theme!) visit Susanna Leonard Hill’s Perfect Picture Books page.