A celebration of growing and eating that is just in time for spring planting.
Berkes’ latest is a departure from many children’s gardening books, combining rhyming verses with recipes celebrating the garden’s bounty.
Rectos present readers with a rhyming challenge to name what is growing, providing textual clues as well as gorgeously detailed and realistic illustrations, which often feature the flowers, insect pollinators and at least the beginnings of the fruit or vegetable. “It grows on a vine with skin that is green. / It’s sliced in a salad; it’s long and it’s lean. / But sometimes it’s shorter with soft little prickles / And placed in a jar for real tasty pickles.” (Deathless poetry this is not.) Versos show close-ups of a child enjoying or preparing a dish featuring that fruit/vegetable, the recipe at the bottom of the page—sweet-and-sour cucumber salad in this case. From the popular ants on a log to the more daring French onion soup, breakfast-y carrot muffins to a dessert of blueberry pie, young chefs are likely to get a wide introduction to both the products of the garden and the culinary arts. The recipes include thumbnail pictures next to the ingredients, and the steps are well-written. Two recipes specify that children should ask for adult help, and closing notes reinforce this, but there is no prominent, introductory note to underscore cooking safety. While the children are sometimes oddly proportioned, they do represent a nice mix of races and cultural backgrounds.
A celebration of growing and eating that is just in time for spring planting. (facts about the featured foods, how seeds start, what plants need, plant parts, glossary of cooking terms, list of garden songs, books and websites) (Informational picture book/recipe book. 3-8)Pub Date: March 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-58469-189-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dawn Publications
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2013
This should send Dark Knight fans flying to the Batcave—or the bedroom.
Holy bedtime, Batman!
In a sleepy-looking neighborhood under a dusky cerulean sky, a young, brown-haired, white boy goes through the motions of getting ready for bed: he brushes his teeth, takes a bath, picks up his toys, and feeds his fish. In a parallel visual narrative, beckoned by the cat's-eye–yellow bat-signal, Batman keeps Gotham safe for another night by catching crooks, locking them away, and avenging those who have been wronged. Though the two characters are quite different, through a carefully flexible narrative, Dahl and Beavers weave a convincing tale of just how similar they might be. “It’s time to take care of business” describes the child’s trip to the potty and Batman’s dive down a manhole equally well, for instance. Beavers' art is visually striking and vibrantly hued, perfect for keeping young eyes glued to each page. Dahl's economical text is cadenced with a gentle lilt, just right for a bedtime read-aloud. Young fans of the caped crusader will delight in spying their favorite characters. In the already-overstuffed bedtime-book market, this is certainly a niche read, but it hits its mark well, delivering fun without darkness. A “bedtime checklist” at the end aptly includes “story time.”
This should send Dark Knight fans flying to the Batcave—or the bedroom. (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-62370-732-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A nice but not requisite purchase.
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.
Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.
A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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