Dive into the spaghetti with gusto.
Mealtime can be messy.
When tiny tots are gaining independence and feeding themselves for the first time, food doesn’t always end up exactly where it is supposed to go. In a silly, rollicking rhyme, Day explores the many ways that highchair-time can go awry. The titular phrase says it all: “Applesauce is fun to wear / on your nose / or in your hair.” In Massey’s accompanying illustration, a bowl is upturned on a youngster’s head, spoon cast aside, applesauce dripping everywhere. Toast, spread thick with jam, proves to be an impossible urge to ignore: “Toast is always nice and flat. / What could make a better hat?” Plus, peas escape too easily; it’s not the toddler’s fault: “Roly-poly peas are fine / to squish / or fling / or put in line.” Oftentimes, eating can be more of a full-body experience than one limited to the sense of taste. Mashed bananas? Of course they turn into “gloppy gloves!” Massey provides a diverse cast of little ones in a pale palette, highlighting smears and smudges across tiny faces. They appear against a white background that is the opposite of clean, displaying little handprints and smears. The conclusion, which lands appropriately in the bath, is a bit slapdash, the playful rhyme having built momentum to what feels like an abrupt end. But the unbridled joy of messiness shines through. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 60.2% of actual size.)
Dive into the spaghetti with gusto. (Picture book. 1-4)Pub Date: April 6, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-951836-05-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Cameron + Company
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2021
Playing with your food is allowed (and encouraged!) here.
An interactive concept book relating to food, colors, and shapes for the preschool set.
When children open the book they will find four small books arranged as a square. The two on the left open to the left, the two on the right open to the right. When all four books are open it looks like a place setting, with a plate full of food. The books have illustrations of food with different shapes: circles (slices of kiwi, a bowl of guacamole) and triangles (a pizza slice, a watermelon wedge); different colors: red (kidney beans, red miso soup, tomatoes), yellow (corn bread, a taco, pineapple), green (peas, lettuce, edamame); and food types: fruits, vegetables, sushi, pizza, pasta. The book suggests some plate arrangements children can make: “Can you make a plate of only triangles or circles?” “Can you make a plate of only vegetables or fruits?” or “Can you make a plate of your favorite foods?” But the possibilities are many, and readers can come up with their own combinations—including matching the plate edges or the accompanying flatware. Adults can also use the book as a springboard for a playful conversation on food and nutrition.
Playing with your food is allowed (and encouraged!) here. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: April 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3907-1
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Abrams Appleseed
Review Posted Online: March 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Despite the happy ending, a story meant to serve as reassurance to little ones giving up their own pacifiers comes off as...
It’s time for little Duck to give up his beloved pacifier.
Like many tots, “Duck likes his pacifier,” and the first double-page spread shows him sucking on it happily. Mama Duck, though, believes he’s outgrown it: “Only in bed, sleepyhead,” she admonishes, plucking the pacifier from Duck’s beak as he sits down to a meal. On subsequent pages, she repeats this phrase and pulls away the pacifier as surprised, sad-looking Duck sits in his car seat and reads a book. Adult readers will wonder here—why wouldn’t Mama Duck just put away the pacifier instead of repeatedly snatching it from her wee one throughout the day? Then, surprise, Mama Duck announces that Duck doesn’t need his pacifier at all: “Not even in bed, sleepyhead.” Here, a pleased-looking Mama Duck is pictured with the pacifier hanging from a cord around her neck, out of little Duck’s reach. The following double-page spread features Duck wailing in his crib. Turn the page, and readers see that “soon enough, Duck stops crying…and falls asleep” with no pacifier and no comfort from Mama. When morning comes, he proudly announces: “I’m a BIG DUCK now!”
Despite the happy ending, a story meant to serve as reassurance to little ones giving up their own pacifiers comes off as harsh and decidedly unpleasant. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4795-5793-6
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Picture Window Books
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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