An approachable, if slightly awkward, introduction to an impactful career path.
Baxter’s illustrated children’s book explores the different ways that dietitians help others with healthy eating.
Dietitians, the author explains, are food experts who work in various places to make sure everyone around them is practicing healthy eating. Anyone can be a dietitian, regardless of race or disability. Using 10 examples of aspiring dietitians from around the world, along with examples of healthy snacks and simple tasks to learn more about vegetables, the book shows how being a dietitian is important work with applications in many fields. (“They can work in hospitals, research, or sports nutrition. Dietitians may work in community health, food service, or the military.”) Kai, a child from Hawaii, wants to become a dietitian who does research that will help people make better food choices. Simone, who has prosthetic legs and plays tennis on her school’s team, wants to help athletes with their diets so they can play their best. Quan, whose parents are soldiers, wants to work with the Army to help soldiers on duty keep up their energy. Tallulah, a member of the Navajo tribe, wants to become a professor who teachers nutrition classes in college. And Ying, who is from China, wants to write magazine articles that will help people with nutrition. Each example of an aspiring dietitian is accorded a two-page spread accompanied by Mahaleris’ colorful, cartoonish illustrations and includes descriptions of each child’s ethnic background, disability (if any), favorite vegetable, and reasons for wanting to become a dietitian. The book also provides many real-life examples of related jobs children might be interested in as future careers. The structure of each written spread does feel a bit clumsy in terms of construction; facts are presented seemingly at random and the information does not always flow in a logical way from paragraph to paragraph. However, with its simple discussions of different types of work in the profession, the book will surely succeed in encouraging all kinds of children to think about becoming dietitians.
An approachable, if slightly awkward, introduction to an impactful career path.Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2024
ISBN: 9798991299305
Page Count: 39
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Jan. 21, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A flavorful call to action sure to spur young introverts.
In this latest slice in the Food Group series, Humble Pie learns to stand up to a busy friend who’s taking advantage of his pal’s hard work on the sidelines.
Jake the Cake and Humble Pie are good friends. Where Pie is content to toil in the background, Jake happily shines in the spotlight. Alert readers will notice that Pie’s always right there, too, getting A-pluses and skiing expertly just behind—while also doing the support work that keeps every school and social project humming. “Fact: Nobody notices pie when there’s cake nearby!” When the two friends pair up for a science project, things begin well. But when the overcommitted Jake makes excuse after excuse, showing up late or not at all, a panicked Pie realizes that they won’t finish in time. When Jake finally shows up on the night before the project’s due, Pie courageously confronts him. “And for once, I wasn’t going to sugarcoat it.” The friends talk it out and collaborate through the night for the project’s successful presentation in class the next day. John and Oswald’s winning recipe—plentiful puns and delightful visual jokes—has yielded another treat here. The narration does skew didactic as it wraps up: “There’s nothing wrong with having a tough conversation, asking for help, or making sure you’re being treated fairly.” But it’s all good fun, in service of some gentle lessons about social-emotional development.
A flavorful call to action sure to spur young introverts. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780063469730
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.
Ellis, known for her illustrations for Colin Meloy’s Wildwood series, here riffs on the concept of “home.”
Shifting among homes mundane and speculative, contemporary and not, Ellis begins and ends with views of her own home and a peek into her studio. She highlights palaces and mansions, but she also takes readers to animal homes and a certain famously folkloric shoe (whose iconic Old Woman manages a passel of multiethnic kids absorbed in daring games). One spread showcases “some folks” who “live on the road”; a band unloads its tour bus in front of a theater marquee. Ellis’ compelling ink and gouache paintings, in a palette of blue-grays, sepia and brick red, depict scenes ranging from mythical, underwater Atlantis to a distant moonscape. Another spread, depicting a garden and large building under connected, transparent domes, invites readers to wonder: “Who in the world lives here? / And why?” (Earth is seen as a distant blue marble.) Some of Ellis’ chosen depictions, oddly juxtaposed and stripped of any historical or cultural context due to the stylized design and spare text, become stereotypical. “Some homes are boats. / Some homes are wigwams.” A sailing ship’s crew seems poised to land near a trio of men clad in breechcloths—otherwise unidentified and unremarked upon.
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6529-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
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