Velvet stage curtains, ship's rigging, fellow audience members-all overlap the featured artwork, lending excitement and immediacy to this little known tale. The rich colors and embellished fonts, meanwhile, create a grandiose effect fitting for Adelaide's life in the spotlight. Adelaide's independent spirit is inspiring, whether she's creating scandal by proposing to a man or donning risqué costumes.Pure magic. -Booklist (starred review) Rockliff tells Addie's story with panache, the words bouncing across the page, with varying sizes and typefaces to highlight and emphasize important ideas. Bruno's pencil and digitally colored illustrations are a homage to another time.Picture book biographies about groundbreaking women are always welcome, and this one is sure to please readers, young and old. -School Library Journal (starred review) The art makes the piece much more than simply a humorous biography of a spunky woman artist; readers get a taste of elite and artistic lives during Addie's lifetime.

Addie's willingness to perform the feared-and-revered bullet-catching trick to retain popularity after Alex's death is a perfect way to end the entertaining, true story. An out-of-the-ordinary biography. -Kirkus Reviews.