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FUN AND FRUIT by Maria Teresa Barahona

FUN AND FRUIT

by Maria Teresa Barahona ; illustrated by Edie Pijpers

Pub Date: April 14th, 2015
ISBN: 978-84-16078-32-5
Publisher: Cuento de Luz

Healthy food, healthy world.

In this Spanish import, two sisters embark on a journey of the imagination that involves changing the future in positive ways and incorporates the wonders of fruit. Vivid and colorful paintings introduce Charlotte and Claire, who live in Spain. The two sisters decide to play a very special game: Every day they will decide on a color, choose a fruit in that hue, make up stories about said fruit and then eat it for a snack. The brief stories are alternately fantastical (an apricot-skin blanket, a cloud-shaped lemon, a boat crafted from a coconut shell) and realistic (a birthday cake with plum jam, the flavor of a pear), and most include a message, whether about stopping war, feeding the hungry or helping the sick. Well-intentioned and unusual, the tales are sometimes pedantic, though they will doubtlessly appeal to budding humanitarians and may help other youngsters develop a sense of empathy. A positive message about healthy food ends the story on a slightly shaky note, but young listeners will appreciate the energetic and imaginative pictures, brimming with frolicking children of many ethnicities, as they consider how they might use their imaginations to help make the world a better place.

A little heavy on the purposive side, but it will lend itself well to classroom extension activities

. (Picture book. 5-8)