"Once there was a happy and strong food pyramid that worked hard to show people what to eat each day." But then the likes of Candy Bar, Donut, and Hot Dog appear on the scene. They begin to boot the healthy foods off the pyramid, starting with poor Granny Smith. The fruits and vegetables plan their next move, but there are just too many of the invaders. But when the pyramid suddenly crashes under its own weight, the veggies seize their chance to rebuild according to the chart on the wall. As each food group takes its rightful place, readers learn that food's importance to good nutrition. And when the sweets come and politely ask to have a place on the pyramid, the foods agree that variety is the spice of life and give them the topmost layer. Barron's foods have expressive faces that perfectly accompany the text and add the humor that will make this a favorite . . . that is, until kids figure out that they are learning at the same time. A bit pedantic, but useful. (Picture book. 4-8)Read full book review >

Irma has a dream. Irma wishes to fly. Trouble is, Irma's a bowling ball and lacks that certain something in the aerodynamic department. But ever since she saw a balloon and mistook it for one of her own, she becomes so obsessed with flying that her game slips a notch, and she is traded in for a new ball. Abandoned to the used-ball rack, fate enters Irma's life in the shape of a young girl. She picks Irma up, fumbles, and Irma takes wing, as it were: down the bannister, through the window, launched on a path that ultimately leads to the seat of an amusement park plane. After a few rounds, Irma is distracted by the sight of a floating beachball in the ocean. Readers are left with little doubt that Irma will weave that dream, too. Ross and Barron (Eggbert, 1994) suggest that dreams don't come easy, but Irma's flight is a high-concept, one- joke idea, less a picture book than a series of static paintings for a story that never gets off the ground. (Picture book. 4-8) Read full book review >

Capped with a cheery beret, Eggbert amuses the denizens of the fridge with his paintings; but when his cracks are noticed, he is evicted (``Eggs with cracked shells were not allowed to stay''), with sad good-byes from the other eggs and glares from the veggies. So begins his journey of discovery—to the windowsill, to the garden below where he paints himself to match the flowers, and on to the big world. New adventures bring new realizations: no surface can hide his true, cracked-egg self; but then, the world is literally full of cracks (e.g., in the clouds). The narrative wanders off into its message; still, its insights are delivered with a pleasantly offbeat humor, while Barron—a former animator making his picture-book debut—has created a vivacious Humpty Dumpty look-alike and set him, among other entertaining caricatures, in an inviting world that's as bright as new paint. (Picture book. 4-8) Read full book review >