Vivid colors, a multiracial cast, and seamless alliteration make this book a wonderful read—not once, not twice, but again...
This charming farm-to-table picture book hits all the right spots for the younger set.
Words and pictures share center stage. The book follows the farm cycle step by step, from seed-sowing and nurturing in the spring, through harvest and market in summer, and finally to a meal shared with friends and family. Graced with abundant water and sunlight, “seed” becomes “sprout,” then “shoot,” then “stalk.” When harvest time comes around, the bounty is “snipped” and is bound for the farmers market. At the market, farmers “sell,” and shoppers “sample” before choosing what to buy. At home in the kitchen, vegetables are prepped, cooked, and seasoned. Soon, everyone sits down to a lovely picnic dinner of corn, succotash, salad, and more! Using only words starting with the letter “S” for both the clipped primary text and sound effects and labels that grace the illustrations (“Sprinkle spice. / Stir salad”; “Shake Shake”). Pfeffer has ensured his story is a playful read as well as the perfect introduction to where our food comes from. Furthermore, the spare prose pairs well with Austin’s bold, graphic illustrations. Austin doesn’t just skillfully incorporate Pfeffer’s text directly into his art; each scene is rendered in delightful detail and features numerous layers of storytelling waiting to be revealed.
Vivid colors, a multiracial cast, and seamless alliteration make this book a wonderful read—not once, not twice, but again and again. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 8, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5247-1464-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2018
A sweet sisterhood seaside story.
Little Jules is determined to impress her big sister with an amazing sand castle…
…but the Ocean has other plans! Sima’s story hinges on Jules’ adoration of her big sister (unnamed and with slightly darker brown skin than Jules’ and their mom’s). When Mom brings them to the beach, Jules immediately starts building while her sister goes off with a boogie board. Jules toils away, and as the tide rolls in, the Ocean demolishes her creation. While Jules takes the Ocean’s destruction personally, her sister says, “this happens to everyone” before heading back out to the waves. Jules is discouraged as she sees other kids’ impressive, still-standing sand castles, but she persists only to be thwarted again by the Ocean. Her lowest point comes when the tides sweep away her bucket. Big sister comes to the rescue—not to save it but to help build another castle, using only their hands. It’s “definitely the BIGGEST…FANCIEST…MOST EXCELLENT” castle, but then, “Uh-oh.” A massive, spread-spanning CRASH! both obliterates the castle and leaves Jules and her sister exhilarated, and they race back to tell their mom what’s happened. In a twist that feels lifted from a Bob Graham story, “Mom assures them that happens to everyone.” Sima’s big-nosed cartoons are also reminiscent of Graham’s, in both the character-developing details (Jules’ ears stick out through her bobbed haircut endearingly) and their obvious affection for one another.
A sweet sisterhood seaside story. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 16, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-4168-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
Superheroes, and readers, will live happily-ever-after.
Why have fairy tales lasted so long? Maybe it’s because they change with every teller.
It takes surprisingly little effort to turn the Three Little Pigs into superheroes. The Big Bad Wolf basically started out as a supervillain, with the ability to blow a house down, and the pigs had to perform spectacular feats to outwit him. In this picture book, the wolf, locked in the Happily Never After tower, devises a plot to escape. Using rotten eggs and spicy ginger, he creates the Gingerbread Man, who makes his way to a baking contest where the three pigs and other fairy-tale characters are competing to win the key to the city. The Gingerbread Man grabs the key, and not even superhero pigs are fast enough to catch him, but with their secret weapon—mustard (which one of the pigs also uses to bake cookies)—they save the day. The morals: Evil never triumphs, and mustard cookies are delicious. The book’s charm is in the details. There are splotches of mustard on the cookies featured on the endpapers, and a sly-looking mouse is hiding on many of the pages. The story even manages to include more than a dozen fairy-tale figures without seeming frenzied. Evans’ use of shading is so skillful that it almost seems possible to reach out and touch the characters. Most of the human characters are light-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Superheroes, and readers, will live happily-ever-after. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-68221-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
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