Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
When her mother, a dressmaker, falls ill, indomitable Irene fights a raging snowstorm to deliver a dress in time for the duchess's ball. A Michael di Capua Book. Ages 3-up. (April)
School Library Journal
Gr 1-4 Fans will enjoy this typical Steig myth, although it lacks the surprise and logic of his best stories. It isn't a fit night out for man nor beast when Irene pluckily forges on through wind and snow to deliver the ball gown that her ill mother has stitched for the duchess. The dramatic pictures of brave Irene's painful journey will engage children's sympathy, but children will also wonder why the dressmaker's child didn't stay home with her sick mother, however grateful the duchess was. The magic just isn't here. Anna Biagioni Hart, Sherwood Regional Library, Alexandria, Va.
From the Publisher
Despite a raging snowstorm, Irene, a dressmaker's daughter, offers to deliver the duchess's newly finished ball gown. . . . With sure writing and well-composed, riveting art, Steig keeps readers with Irene every step of the long way.” —Booklist, Starred Review
“One of Steig's simplest stories [and] one of his best, a tale that has the force of a legend.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
“William Steig's Brave Irene has the timeless quality of a classic fairy tale.” —Publishers Weekly
