An ample serving of entertainment, a full measure of health education, and a dash of Christian thought, perfectly blended...
A clan of curious children and health-conscious grandparents discovers the joy of vegetables in Miller’s (Fire Up Your Profile For LifeWork Success, 2012) Christian children’s book.
Cousins Lucas and Emma love to spend time in their grandparents’ garden. One day, with the help of Grandpa and Nona (their grandmother), Lucas helps plant various vegetable seeds while learning about the uniqueness of each one. To his dismay, the plants aren’t ready by dinnertime, but he and Emma find plenty of fresh, scrumptious vegetables at the store. On another day, the two ride their bikes to Nona’s house again, but this time their friends Dylan and Zoe tag along, and the garden as a whole turns out to be as much a source of fun as it is vegetables. The four of them dig up treasures, discover bugs, and get into a jovial conversation about who would be which vegetable and why. After much laughter, Nona calls the kids in to make homemade pizzas, and they eventually enjoy a delicious and healthy dinner together. Miller also includes a great deal of well-written backmatter, including questions for reflection, vegetable facts and vocabulary words, and a note to parents. Presented in a fun typeface with illustrator Wayne’s colorful, crisp illustrations along with an easy-to-follow plot, this book is an excellent source of both amusement and education. Not only does the message promote healthy eating, but it also celebrates diversity and, for its Christian audience, subtly glorifies God for his creations. The dialogue and actions of the children realistically portray how kids that age would interact, and the characterization is impressive considering the story’s brevity. The text is also formatted well, capitalizing the first letter of every new page and representing each section with a new main idea. The illustrations, including small inserts and three-quarter–page pictures, are varied enough to keep readers’ interest.
An ample serving of entertainment, a full measure of health education, and a dash of Christian thought, perfectly blended and served in a nonpreachy way.Pub Date: May 14, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-9850534-3-7
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Teal Publishing
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The seemingly ageless Seeger brings back his renowned giant for another go in a tuneful tale that, like the art, is a bit sketchy, but chockful of worthy messages. Faced with yearly floods and droughts since they’ve cut down all their trees, the townsfolk decide to build a dam—but the project is stymied by a boulder that is too huge to move. Call on Abiyoyo, suggests the granddaughter of the man with the magic wand, then just “Zoop Zoop” him away again. But the rock that Abiyoyo obligingly flings aside smashes the wand. How to avoid Abiyoyo’s destruction now? Sing the monster to sleep, then make it a peaceful, tree-planting member of the community, of course. Seeger sums it up in a postscript: “every community must learn to manage its giants.” Hays, who illustrated the original (1986), creates colorful, if unfinished-looking, scenes featuring a notably multicultural human cast and a towering Cubist fantasy of a giant. The song, based on a Xhosa lullaby, still has that hard-to-resist sing-along potential, and the themes of waging peace, collective action, and the benefits of sound ecological practices are presented in ways that children will both appreciate and enjoy. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83271-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2001
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