Better than many at explaining the hows and whys of healthy eating but still a TV show on paper.
The characters from the PBS Kids’ show Fizzy’s Lunch Lab teach kids about the importance of good nutrition.
Professor Fizzy, the master of healthy eating, takes on Fast Food Freddy, greasy food expert. The challenge? The titular cook-off: Each chef will design a meal that three kids will then taste test. While Fizzy works with Avril and Henry, teaching them about the Food Plate, shopping the U at the grocery store and checking labels for nutritional information, Freddy does the opposite; his plate is divided into salty, sweet, greasy and fatty, and he shops the freezer section. The lunch labbers take readers through planning a meal, introducing kitchen safety tips and explaining how to eat a rainbow (of fruits and veggies, not jelly beans, Freddy). Throughout, Sully the Cell interjects to explain how the right foods are used to fuel the body, and Cpl. Cup provides the recipes that help Fizzy win the cook-off: Green Salad with Lime Dressing, Veggilicious Hoagie with Groovy Guacamole, Tortilla Chips and Berry Banana Fro-Yo. With asides about protein, fiber, fats and calcium, Fizzy covers all the bases, and kids can even get some tips on dinner conversation starters and how to set the table. The brightly colored digital illustrations match the TV show to a T, inelegantly making the leap to the page.
Better than many at explaining the hows and whys of healthy eating but still a TV show on paper. (Informational picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: May 13, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7279-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Feb. 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Readers will take much away from this, including an appreciation for their health-care resources and a desire to make a...
This entry in the CitizenKid series successfully conveys to readers both the importance of health care/disease prevention and the limited availability of these in the third world.
The fortunate good health of Mimi’s family is threatened after a forbidden sip of stream water sickens her little sister. An hour-long walk to the clinic in the next village brings improved health to Nakkissi, vaccinations to all three children and a dream to Mimi of building a clinic in their own village. Determination and cooperation pay off three months later when Nurse Tela makes the first of her bi-weekly visits to dispense health care and instruction in hygiene, nutrition and the use of bed nets to prevent malaria. Backmatter introduces readers to a real "Nurse Tela" working in Zambia, details why basic health care is so important, and gives readers ideas on how they can make a difference. Fernandes’ folk-art–style acrylic artwork is rich in patterns and beautifully portrays both village life and the Kenyan landscape. She skillfully uses the juxtaposition of foreground and background to match the illustrations with the extensive text, as when a leopard and hyena menacingly wait outside the hut where the family gathers around the ill child.
Readers will take much away from this, including an appreciation for their health-care resources and a desire to make a difference in the world. (map, glossary) (Picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-55453-722-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: April 17, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
Though the focus on sugar is apparent, an underlining theme of balancing nutrition with exercise rounds out the...
A risk of family diabetes prompts Tía Sofía to teach her nieces and nephews about alternatives to sugar when choosing meals and snacks.
Ten-year-old Tito and his cousins enjoy spending weekends at their aunt’s house, playing board games and watching television. On this weekend, Tía Sofía tells the family that everyone must help Tito eat healthier to avoid developing diabetes like his grandfather and uncle. To do this, they must eliminate as much hidden sugar as possible and eat natural sugars such as those in fruits. Under their aunt’s guidance, the children spend the day analyzing all their meals. They learn, for example, that ketchup and relish include sugar, but fresh tomato and homemade salsa on a hamburger can be healthier and just as delicious. At day’s end, they are surprised with an apple turnover, sans sugar but made with cinnamon, that holds its natural delicious sweetness simply from the juice of the apples. Latino family scenes painted in gouache on textured paper are populated by amiable, brown-skinned characters who seem to enjoy the challenge presented to them. The weekend concludes with the only acceptable sugar treat, a sweet kiss from Tía Sofía.
Though the focus on sugar is apparent, an underlining theme of balancing nutrition with exercise rounds out the purpose-filled story told with a fluent dual English and Spanish text. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: May 31, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-55885-702-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Piñata Books/Arte Público
Review Posted Online: April 17, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2012
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