A visually delightful experience.
A colorful picture book filled with faces created out of food.
Explore a world of vibrant and expressive emotions through an array of cleverly crafted edible faces. Readers will experience emotions such as happiness, sadness, curiosity, confusion, and confidence through everyday foods including oatmeal, eggs, bananas, lettuce, bagels, pasta, and more. Each page is dominated by a photograph of a single plate on which a food face has been arranged, with a short line naming the emotion conveyed above or below. Emotions are highlighted in the text with bright colors and capitalized letters. Simple sentences—“Sometimes I feel SAD. / Other times I feel HAPPY”—complement the eye-catching photographs. A plate on which sits an expertly cut watermelon wedge, a piece of banana, a blueberry, and a blackberry becomes background for a face illustrating anger. Though the concept is simple, the intricacies of each face beg for closer examination, and readers might find themselves transfixed in wonder at the fantastical creations. Young readers will enjoy this journey through food and feelings, and if they’re tempted to try their hands at creating their own foodie faces, there are helpful tips at the end of the book.
A visually delightful experience. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 16, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-316-42354-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
May try the patience of antsy little ones, though vehicle fans will be delighted.
A cast of critters as impatient as they are colorful yearn for frozen treats.
In a neighborhood occupied by sweet-toothed beasties, the ice cream truck reigns supreme, but a lengthy roster of vehicles must first pass through this animal kingdom—a dump truck, mail truck, and fire truck, to name just a few. Trucks putter through town to onlookers’ delight and disappointment, and spectators bid each one farewell and wish it good luck—all the while dreaming of the delectable goodies to come. Eagle-eyed readers will know when to expect the ice cream truck’s advent, cleverly foreshadowed in the book’s opening spread. While Runyan’s work is pleasing in its simplicity, with characters rendered in bright watercolors and their homes and greenery depicted in appealing collages, Fairbank’s story drags on a shade too long. Though transportation-loving tots will eagerly exclaim over the various vehicles, others will grow frustrated waiting for the titular truck to arrive. Those seeking to incorporate the book into a storytime may want to practice reading this one aloud first, as some of the verses feel a bit clunky.
May try the patience of antsy little ones, though vehicle fans will be delighted. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: April 29, 2025
ISBN: 9780062842114
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
Though the story likely won’t linger, this brilliant tapestry of browns may spark discussions about identity and nature.
Brown is everywhere.
Holding a camera and on the lookout for all things brown, a brown-skinned child goes on a hike with their grandparents while their parents prepare for the arrival of a new sibling. As the text points out, brown can be found everywhere in nature, from the ants that carry heavy loads to the “mother bear protecting her young” to “a wrinkled maple leaf.” Attributing strengths such as wisdom and kindness to the color, the child finds their own identity in it and hopes to pass those traits on to their newly born sibling. The story closes with a page from the child’s scrapbook, featuring photos, leaves, and other objects commemorating the day. Though, as this story makes clear, brown is beautiful—a fact underscored by a slew of books celebrating the skin tones of children of color—the rhymes feel cumbersome and sometimes disjointed, and the text may not stay with children. Still, there’s a warmth to the illustrations, which feature luminous shades of brown spilling across the pages, and the message is sound, using the natural world to convey the beauty of brown. The appended scrapbooking activity is a wonderful way to start conversations about the colors of the natural world. In an author’s note, Kelkar, who is Indian America, discusses growing to embrace her brown skin. (The book was reviewed digitally.)
Though the story likely won’t linger, this brilliant tapestry of browns may spark discussions about identity and nature. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-374-38952-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
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