An entertaining, giggleworthy blend of gastronomic history and fiction.
Young Julius Caesar doesn’t want to eat his veggies.
A young Julius Caesar, squat, with a simple, round face, clad in a white toga and sporting a laurel, is interrupted from playing a checkerslike game with his owl companion. His father is throwing a banquet, and Julius must attend for the first time. Rhythmic, rhyming text first describes preparatory traditions, from changing into a more elaborate toga to washing his hands and feet. Children will be more fascinated, however, by the increasingly elaborate, colorfully illustrated dishes served to the finicky Julius. After the boy turns down oysters, peacock, flamingo, stuffed sow’s udders, and boiled camel’s feet, the narrator offers “a plate of sea scorpions— / a sweet custard with fish— / pig lungs stuffed with fresh figs— / veggies and brains in one dish!” The humorous buildup concludes with a relatable scene: The little Caesar may be excused once he finishes his enormous pile of peas. The illustrations maintain a kid’s perspective, with only other children’s faces visible and adult faces cut out of scenes. Julius is tan-skinned; the other children are tan- or brown-skinned. Facts about Julius Caesar and Roman eating customs wrap up the story. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An entertaining, giggleworthy blend of gastronomic history and fiction. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 16, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-951836-48-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Cameron Kids
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
Young readers may be charmed to realize that the tree sprout near the old oak’s stump could by now be a sapling. This will...
From acorn to huge tree, an oak provides the focal point for this clear and simple look at over two centuries of change in a single landscape.
A small boy plants an acorn in summer, close to a wigwam, high above a wide river. Though readers will guess that the tall ships that appear in the river by autumn don’t belong to the same people whose canoe crosses toward shore in the first pages, Karas avoids editorializing. In the next pages, “The boy grew up and moved away. Farmers now lived here.” The perspective stays: the growing tree, the river below, hills rolling away to the horizon. But seasons change, the occupants of the house on the land are different on each spread, and the landscape transforms by human hands through agriculture and construction. Karas’ gouache-and-pencil art has a friendly, intimate quality. A timeline grows along the bottom of the page, beginning when the tree sprouts in 1775 and indicating the passage of time at a rate of 25 years per spread. The tree is brought down by a storm in 2000—here the narrative changes from past tense to a “you are there” present tense.
Young readers may be charmed to realize that the tree sprout near the old oak’s stump could by now be a sapling. This will invite repeat visits. (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 11, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-399-25233-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2014
The pleasure of finding unexpected links between a new country and the old suffuses this autobiographical outing.
More warm family memories from the Chinese-American creators of Mahjong All Day Long (2005), with cheery illustrations painted on ceramic plates.
The treasured weekend visits with Auntie and Uncle Yang that help an immigrant family cope with feelings of isolation take on a new wrinkle when Auntie Yang spots a field of soybeans on a Sunday drive. Mao dou were considered animal food in this country at the time but widely consumed in China. The armloads of plants that the friendly farmer allows her to bring home begin an annual picnic tradition. It eventually expands to include many Chicago-area families with, as the young narrator notes, “lots of kids just our ages who all spoke Chinese as badly as we did!” Years later, a long-awaited reunion between Auntie Yang and her sibs from China closes these memories of good times and mouth-watering Chinese food on a joyful note. The simply drawn scenes of busy, festive groups reflect the narrative’s happy tone, and they are capped with old snapshots from past gatherings in the afterword.
The pleasure of finding unexpected links between a new country and the old suffuses this autobiographical outing. (glossary) (Picture book/memoir. 6-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-60060-442-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 14, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2012
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