A BOOK OF FRUIT

Photography teacher and award-winning photographer Lember has put together a series of images that introduce 14 fruits to very young readers. Each fruit is presented in a still life, a landscape, and a close-up view. Peaches, cherries, pears, and apples are shown in their respective orchards; strawberries, raspberries, watermelons, and blueberries in their fields; The concept is excellent, as is the idea of showing three different contexts for each fruit. The hand-tinted photographs have a blurred, grainy appearance that combines the specificity of a photograph and the evocative quality of a painting. These pictures are often gorgeous, but some sacrifice accuracy for effect. A better choice might have been crisply delineated colored photos or painted images. Still, a clear and useful book about how and where things grow. (Nonfiction. 4-7)