A photo essay depicts children preparing and eating healthy food.
With the release of revised dietary guidelines in 2010, the U.S. Department of Agriculture also replaced the food pyramid with an initiative called MyPlate. This title aims to teach children to make healthy food choices based on these guidelines. Kids pour their own milk, make their own shakes and crack eggs all by themselves. (Depicting solo use of blenders and knives, however, may cause concern for some.) With bold background colors, staged photographs of youngsters in every shape and skin tone cover the pages in a simple layout. The diversity of faces is the book’s strongest point. The text, however, cannot decide if the audience is children or their adults. Captions repeatedly exclaim, “Good food makes me strong!” while each sidebar provides a tip for caregivers. “Buy pastas that are high in protein, legumes, and multigrains.” Contradictorily, the photo shows both wheat and white pasta, while other pages clearly show white flour and rice choices. The endnote contains information on the five food groups, along with the link to the new MyPlate initiative.
Even with adorable children playing with healthy food, choose another for teaching the new dietary guidelines. (Informational picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2426-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2013
Categories: CHILDREN'S HEALTH & DAILY LIVING
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Echoes of Runaway Bunny color this exchange between a bath-averse piglet and his patient mother. Using a strategy that would probably be a nonstarter in real life, the mother deflects her stubborn offspring’s string of bath-free occupational conceits with appeals to reason: “Pirates NEVER EVER take baths!” “Pirates don’t get seasick either. But you do.” “Yeesh. I’m an astronaut, okay?” “Well, it is hard to bathe in zero gravity. It’s hard to poop and pee in zero gravity too!” And so on, until Mom’s enticing promise of treasure in the deep sea persuades her little Treasure Hunter to take a dive. Chunky figures surrounded by lots of bright white space in Segal’s minimally detailed watercolors keep the visuals as simple as the plotline. The language isn’t quite as basic, though, and as it rendered entirely in dialogue—Mother Pig’s lines are italicized—adult readers will have to work hard at their vocal characterizations for it to make any sense. Moreover, younger audiences (any audiences, come to that) may wonder what the piggy’s watery closing “EUREKA!!!” is all about too. Not particularly persuasive, but this might coax a few young porkers to get their trotters into the tub. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25425-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2011
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S HEALTH & DAILY LIVING
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Officer Buckle had Gloria, his police canine, to help his audience see the value of his safety lessons; Yolen and Teague have their dinos.
Addressing such perennial topics as jumping on the bed, climbing too high and stair safety, Yolen and Teague first present the dinos doing the wrong things, their faces plainly showing that they are surprised and scared by the world of hurt about to come their ways while caring (and dwarfed) loved ones freak out in the backgrounds. “Does he climb up too high? // Or jump on his bed? // Does he race on his bike with no helmet on head?” (Scansion is a bit of an issue.) Of course not! And though the text says that it will tell readers why, it doesn’t, instead just explaining what the dinos do to stay safe. Among other things, Cearadactylus holds Mama’s hand and crosses with the light, Majungasaurus swims where his papa can see him, Agustinia wears his bike helmet, and Concavenator brings water to drink on long hikes. As in previous outings, Teague’s artwork steals the show, the realism of the scenes and human figures juxtaposed with the giant, though childish, dinos. Labels in the illustrations and endpapers will help dino mavens identify their favorites.
Don’ts and Do’s in a familiar formula go down easily for fans and will provide a good conversation starter for parents. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-439-24104-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Blue Sky/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
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