Lovely illustrations and whimsical wordplay—but full of snares for the unwary.
This toddler’s guide to things we eat may raise some difficult questions.
Author and food critic Stein adapted this book from a selection from his earlier collaboration with Rothman, Can I Eat That? (2016), a book chock-full of puns, jokes, and silly food facts. The focus of this volume is narrower, confined entirely to the title question, which could lead to some awkward conversations with toddlers. Sandwiched within these pages are several fruits, vegetables, delicious desserts, bugs, some underpants, and several cute wild animals. “Can you eat… // a pea? / A pear? // A bee? A bear? // Chocolate mousse? Alaskan moose? A mouse? // Juice? / Goose? Grouse?” If toddlers haven’t yet made the connection between Bossie the cow and the neatly wrapped hamburger at the supermarket, this book could force caregivers into the uncomfortable position of having to explain humankind’s relationship to meat. Almost every creature so beautifully and expressively pictured herein can be and has been on the menu somewhere in the world, whether elephant, antelope, or ant…even the nearly human-seeming, friendly, smiling ape. If toddlers insist one can’t eat a moose, ought one to correct them? Is there a loss of innocence that comes with learning that most people are part-time carnivores and that many of the animals we admire in the wild lots of us also welcome on our plates?
Lovely illustrations and whimsical wordplay—but full of snares for the unwary. (Board book. 3-5)Pub Date: May 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-7148-7882-9
Page Count: 30
Publisher: Phaidon
Review Posted Online: May 25, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
While the set is handsome, the book is more appropriate for toddlers while the dominoes are more befitting of children...
A graphically simple board-book–and-game combo.
Inside the cardboard case nestles a set of 28 sturdy paperboard tiles and a 16-page book. The book is basic fare exploring various colors. On each double-page spread the color is written in all caps, and a series of usual-suspect cartoon and graphic images in said hue float about on the page. A couple of the choices seem a bit of a stretch, particularly the red-and-white European pedestrian-crossing sign on the “white” spread and a few blue objects that seem more aquamarine than true blue. The final double-page spread includes a rapid-fire presentation of several secondary colors, green, purple, orange, etc., and a simple visual equation shows readers how to create these colors with primary shades that were shown before. The domino game focuses on matching icons as much as matching specific hues. Each double-sided domino includes a bold image of one of the objects, animals or people found in the book. The rules, which are a simplified version of basic dominoes, are listed on the back of the book. A choking-hazard warning suggests that the product is not for children under 3, but the game aspect makes it appropriate for older children anyway.
While the set is handsome, the book is more appropriate for toddlers while the dominoes are more befitting of children approaching 4, making it an incongruous package. (Novelty/board book. 3-5)Pub Date: March 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-2-848801-946-8
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Twirl/Chronicle
Review Posted Online: March 10, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
A jovial, sunny story with a slightly unusual interpretation of the role of rabbits in Easter celebrations.
This pleasant, rhyming story was first published in Switzerland, adapted from a children’s poem that describes several animals working together to alert all the rabbits that Easter is coming.
In the introductory pages, Mr. Croak the raven flies down to tell Vicki Vole that Easter is coming. She spruces up for the holiday “as all good creatures do” and then sets off to find her friend Rob Rabbit. He appears to be in bed recovering from a cold, but he bounds up and takes off in a hurry to spread the news to the other rabbits about Easter’s impending arrival. The final spread shows several rabbits at a distance romping across a green field with tiny eggs just visible hidden among the spring flowers. Mr. Croak and Vicki Vole enjoy a cup of tea together as one rabbit approaches them with baskets of decorated eggs. The story could not be much slighter, and the rhymes are sometimes a little sing-song, but the pleasant, cheery tone of the text is matched by soft-focus illustrations in bright, jewel tones against azure blue skies.
A jovial, sunny story with a slightly unusual interpretation of the role of rabbits in Easter celebrations. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7358-4070-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: NorthSouth
Review Posted Online: Feb. 14, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2012
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