Savory fun for everyone. Kids will lap this right up.
Veggie soup—giant yum!
Two friends and their dog find a huge parsnip. It’s truly enormous—so big that the imaginative pair, joined by another pal, envision themselves making a car, a slide, or a rocket out of it. Finally, the children decide to whip up “giant parsnip soup.” But they’ll need to gather ingredients, which they name in ascending numerical order—“one giant parsnip, two sacks of potatoes, three crates of carrots, four bags of beets, [and] five pails of water”—all ingeniously collected. Two kids sail a paper boat to retrieve the carrots, while the beets are transported via hot air balloon. What else do they require? “Six busy hands, seven more minutes” (while the soup cooks), and “eight red soup bowls.” As the kids work, they’re joined by an ever-expanding group of diverse friends. It all ends with “ten full bellies.” Over the course of the story, readers will practice their counting skills (a large boldface numeral appears on the lower-left-hand corner of each spread), learn vegetable names and colors, and observe young people working toward a common goal in the spirit of cooperation. Zinging with energy, Sosa’s multimedia collage illustrations are as joyfully chaotic as a child’s drawing. Readers will practically smell the delicious aromas wafting from the big red pot. Two pièces de résistance at book’s end: a counting chart and a recipe for parsnip soup.
Savory fun for everyone. Kids will lap this right up. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 13, 2025
ISBN: 9781665961967
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
Still, preschoolers will likely savor this mouthwatering treatment of a subject that looms large in many early school...
The familiar theme of the challenges facing a new kid in town is given an original treatment by photographer Border in this book of photos of three-dimensional objects in a simple modeled landscape.
Peanut Butter is represented by a slice of white bread spread with the popular condiment. The other characters in the story—a hamburger with a pair of hot dogs in tow, a bowl of alphabet soup, a meatball jumping a rope of spaghetti, a carton of French fries and a pink cupcake—are represented by skillfully crafted models of these foods, anthropomorphized using simple wire construction. Rejected by each character in turn in his search for playmates, Peanut Butter discovers in the end that Jelly is his true match (not Cupcake, as the title suggests), perhaps because she is the only one who looks like him, being a slice of white bread spread with jelly. The friendly foods end up happily playing soccer together. Some parents may have trouble with the unabashedly happy depiction of carbs and American junk food (no carrots or celery sticks in this landscape), and others may find themselves troubled by the implication that friendship across difference is impossible.
Still, preschoolers will likely savor this mouthwatering treatment of a subject that looms large in many early school experiences. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: July 29, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-399-16773-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2014
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
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