A vibrant survey of traditional foods from all over the world, laced with multigenerational love.
The language of cooking goes global.
“When grandmas cook for us, they make us happy. And that makes them happy.” The opening lines of this board book capture the essence of this title. Children are invited into the kitchens of grannies from different cultures, including the U.S., Mexico, Italy, India, and Nigeria. Each page captures the grandmothers’ love and warmth for their families, while also introducing readers to each culture’s word for grandmotherand a favorite comfort food. On one page, for instance, a South Korean halmoni makes mandu, or dumplings, for her family. On the table, the tools and ingredients for making this Korean dish are labeled, among them daepa (scallions) and baechu (cabbage). On another page, a Ukrainian babusia prepares borscht (“a scrumptious soup you can eat hot or cold”) using a kivsh (ladle) and a kastrulya (large pot). Though the text is somewhat on the advanced side for board-book audiences, little ones will enjoy poring over the illustrations, guided by loving caregivers; the use of accurate terms results in a rich reading experience. The soft illustrations depict characters diverse in terms of skin tone, hairstyle, and clothing. Children are shown assisting with the cooking, making for loving family settings where everyone is included in food preparation.
A vibrant survey of traditional foods from all over the world, laced with multigenerational love. (Board book. 2-5)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781728297699
Page Count: 22
Publisher: duopress/Sourcebooks
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2024
The combination of lovingly humorous and detailed mixed-media illustrations and infectious rhymes will cause little ones and...
More than skin deep, this rhyming paean to diversity offers readers an array of families of all colors and orientations, living and loving one another in a vibrant city setting.
A giggling baby is tummy-tickled by her white and black mothers (or white mother and black father—impressively, the illustration leaves room for interpretation) in New York’s Central Park in its summertime glory. "This is how we all begin: / small and happy in our skin." This celebration of skin not only extols the beauty and value of various skin colors, but also teaches the importance of skin as an essential body part: “It keeps the outsides out / and your insides in.” Park, public-pool, and block-party scenes allow readers to luxuriate in a teeming city where children of all colors, abilities, and religions enjoy their families and neighbors. The author and illustrator do not simply take a rote, tokenistic approach to answering the cry for diverse books; the words and pictures depict a much-needed, realistic representation of the statement “it takes a village to raise a child” when a child skins her knee and many rush to her aid and comfort. Though her palette of browns is a little limited, Tobia creates sheer joy with her depictions of everything from unibrows, dimples, and birthmarks to callouts to recognizable literary characters.
The combination of lovingly humorous and detailed mixed-media illustrations and infectious rhymes will cause little ones and their families to pore over this book again and again. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7002-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 11, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.
A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.
A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
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