Too long for me, and the child's voice too breathless, enchanted w/ everything, it seems.  But I do like seeing all sorts of paintings and images that relate to history, presented in mutual context.   (Same comment for every book in the set.) ( )

This sequel is such a great read. The illustrations in this book are just so fun and make you feel like you're right in Paris. After living in Giverny, France for a year she now gets to go to Paris to see the impressionist Mary Cassatt. During this journey, she also gets to celebrate her birthday at the Eiffel Tower. Throughout this book you even get to learn a little bit of French, about the painters, and also even a recipe. ( )

This is a sequel to Charlotte in Giverny and begins almost immediately after that one ends. Charlotte's cousin Lizzy has come to Giverny, where they spend the summer spying on Claude Monet, taking care of the garden, and learning French (except when Lizzy and her family are lucky enough to go the seaside!). When fall rolls around, Charlotte's family receives an invitation to Mary Cassatt's show in Paris, so they decide to go to the city for winter.

Just like the Giverny book, this is a sweet and uncomplicated story told in diary and scrapbook format about Charlotte's life in the 1890s. She gets to mingle with famous artists and sprinkles her scrapbook with French vocabulary words as well as a recipe or two (plus reproductions of artwork by Impressionists that match the story).

To be perfectly honest, while I found the Paris chapter to be equally lovely as the Giverny one, I didn't really enjoy it as much. It almost felt like too much of a rehash, or something that may have been better in a single book with some editing. But maybe it's just because I read them too close together...I still think they're fantastic for giving a human side to famous names and artwork, and the watercolor sketches and mixed-media collages by illustrator Melissa Sweet are still gorgeous and fun.

I think this is a great and wonderful series, but I won't seek out the next two books, though I'll recommend the whole set for children. ( )