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FRESH DELICIOUS

Name: FRESH DELICIOUS
Author: Irene Latham
ISBN: 978-1-62979-103-6

by Irene Latham ; illustrated by Mique Moriuchi ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 8, 2016

Whimsical poems will inspire readers to play with their fruits and vegetables.

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A collection of lively poems celebrate edible delights from the farmers market.

Fruits and vegetables are not just food, but muses for poet and author Latham and illustrator Moriuchi. Written mostly in free verse, clever poems show farmers market produce in a new light. Cucumbers become larger than life: “a fleet / of green / submarines / in a wicker / sea.” Thoughts about corn echo a child’s curiosity: “I don’t know / why / they call it / an ear / when / I see / rows / upon rows / of tiny / noses.” In addition to viewing their subjects as submersibles or facial features, poems evoke the touch, taste, and smell of items such as honey, watermelon, and even an onion: “Remove / its hairy / roots, / peel its / old-man / skin. / Taste / where / it’s been.” Moriuchi’s colorful collages pair perfectly with Latham’s poems. Her illustrations depict animals in delightful situations: a rabbit carries a lettuce umbrella, and mice fence with fuzzy okra swords. This poetry collection will inspire readers to rush to the farmers market to compare Latham’s images with their real-life counterparts. Kid-friendly recipes are also included at the end of the book.

Whimsical poems will inspire readers to play with their fruits and vegetables. (Picture book/poetry. 3-8)

Pub Date: March 8, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-62979-103-6

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Wordsong/Boyds Mills

Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015

Categories:

CHILDREN'S POETRY

- BOOK REVIEW
IF I COULD CHOOSE A BEST DAY
edited by Irene Latham & Charles Waters ; illustrated by Olivia Sua

- BOOK REVIEW
THE MISTAKES THAT MADE US
edited by Irene Latham & Charles Waters ; illustrated by Mercè López

- BOOK REVIEW
THE MUSEUM ON THE MOON
by Irene Latham ; illustrated by Myriam Wares

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FOR A GIRL BECOMING

by Joy Harjo ; illustrated by Adriana M. Garcia ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 29, 2025

A stunningly illustrated, tender, and tenacious message—a boon to any bookshelf.

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In this tale from a powerhouse creative team, a family welcomes a child with an empowering and fiercely affectionate blessing to guide her growth.

“The day your spirit came to us rains came in from the Pacific… // and all of us who loved you gathered, where / Pollen blew throughout that desert house to bless, / And horses were running the land, hundreds of them, / To accompany you here, to bless.” And so a newborn baby girl with “black hair, / Brown eyes,” and “skin the color of earth” joins a protective community that spans the heavens and earth. Page turns skillfully capture the passage of time, and as the child grows, she’s enjoined to move through the world with compassion and meet both joys and hardships with determination. Former U.S. Poet Laureate Harjo’s (Mvskoke Nation) fluid and impassioned second-person text circles back effectively to reiterate its enveloping missive, then appears in full at the book’s end. Pura Belpré Award winner Garcia’s dynamic and richly layered portraits deftly echo the poem’s movement. A palette of vibrant turquoise and leafy green depicts the child maturing and thriving, while immersive double-page spreads in tawny hues seamlessly incorporate Native elements throughout. A standout among affirming picture books, this beatitude-inducing work will quickly become the new go-to baby present.

A stunningly illustrated, tender, and tenacious message—a boon to any bookshelf. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: April 29, 2025

ISBN: 9781324052241

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Norton Young Readers

Review Posted Online: March 21, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S POETRY | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
REMEMBERING
by Xelena González ; illustrated by Adriana M. Garcia

- BOOK REVIEW
EL CUARTO TURQUESA / THE TURQUOISE ROOM
by Monica Brown ; translated by Cinthya Miranda-McIntosh ; illustrated by Adriana M. Garcia

- BOOK REVIEW
WHERE WONDER GROWS
by Xelena González ; illustrated by Adriana M. Garcia

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EVERYONE'S AWAKE

by Colin Meloy ; illustrated by Shawn Harris ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 3, 2020

Don’t sleep on this one.

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An energetic, insomniac romp of an anti-bedtime book.

A wakeful child narrator recounts the goings-on in a large, multiracial family’s zany household long after everyone should be asleep. Rhyming verse with a singsong cadence details activities ranging from the mundane (“Grandma’s at her needlework. / Dad is baking bread. / My brother’s making laundry lists / of every book he’s read”) to the bizarre (“Now Mom just took an audience / with Queen Sigrid the Third. / My brother has just taught the cat a dozen dirty words”). It’s a rollicking read-aloud, but inconsistent line breaks may cause some to slip up upon first reading. Pop-culture references pep things up and range from the stodgy (Sinatra, “Clementine”) to the very contemporary (poke tattoos, the film Condorman), though the conceit drags on a bit too long. Throughout, Harris’ illustrations have a retro feel that evokes, at turns, Tomie Ungerer and Maira Kalman, and they expand on the details of the text to ratchet up the humor and drama—building on the mention of a lake to depict the setting not as a mere house but an elaborate lighthouse. The conclusion shows the narrator descending the stairs to find everyone asleep at daybreak, a predictable, yet satisfying, end.

Don’t sleep on this one. (Picture book. 3-7)