BLUEBERRY-BLUE BUBBLE

Asner’s debut picture book presents a youngster’s bubble-gum adventure.

A child decides to blow a giant bubble with their piece of blue chewing gum. As the bubble grows, it becomes chaotic and takes on characteristics of nearby animals. It grows warts like a frog in a pond, for example, and catlike features when it’s near a meditating feline. When the bubble inevitably bursts, the creatures are startled, but the bubble blower is undeterred and simply requests a larger piece of gum. This fun, alliterative book would make for a great group read-aloud, offering tongue twisters that build throughout the story, finally yielding the phrase: “I blow the biggest, beaming, balancing, bouncy, bumpy, bendy, bigger blueberry-blue bubble.” The unnamed protagonist is only slightly developed, though; kids may wonder why the child wants to blow such a large bubble or where exactly the child lives that is so close to so many animals. Also, an odd joke involving a cow—in which the narrator says, “We don’t have a cow!”—may confuse younger readers. Still, Piwowarski’s full-color, painterly illustrations are clever, bright, and convey whimsy as well as movement in ways that young readers are likely to find adorable.

An often appealing read-aloud celebration of the letter B and bubble-blowing.