Essentially the novelization of a restaurant coloring place mat.
Young readers explore the many facets of food in this interactive mindfulness journal.
The many colors, tastes, and sizes of fruits and veggies are examined by private chef and food photographer Sokolow, a Jamie Oliver Food Revolution alumna who encourages young readers to slow down when thinking through their food choices. Sokolow focuses on the benefits of freshly grown produce by explaining its farm-to-table journey and suggesting activities such as growing herbs, avocado and potato plants, and leafy greens at home. Cultural and dietary food selection discussions, accompanied by diverse cartoon characters, help build greater understanding and curiosity in burgeoning foodies. As they learn, readers are invited to doodle their own designs between Lowen’s charming illustrations, drawing their idea of “perfect” or “wacky-looking” foods and creating their own fruit or veggie superheroes. Also included are a sustainability word search and composting and recycling tips, showing fresh food’s full journey from seed back to soil. Sokolow gently emphasizes the importance of mindfulness, healthy eating, and enjoying food with family. However, it’s clear that the target audience is made up of economically comfortable families, not children experiencing food insecurity. Mention of food deserts, soup kitchens, and food banks are limited to a single page. And while the USDA does stress the importance of fresh fruits and vegetables, the book may inadvertently make children feel ashamed of eating the frozen and canned options, which are considerably more affordable. That said, it’s very cute and, if purchased in paperback, recyclable.
Essentially the novelization of a restaurant coloring place mat. (Activity book. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-30929-2
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Rodale Kids
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
Hundreds of pages of unbridled uplift boiled down to 40.
From two Nobel Peace Prize winners, an invitation to look past sadness and loneliness to the joy that surrounds us.
Bobbing in the wake of 2016’s heavyweight Book of Joy (2016), this brief but buoyant address to young readers offers an earnest insight: “If you just focus on the thing that is making / you sad, then the sadness is all you see. / But if you look around, you will / see that joy is everywhere.” López expands the simply delivered proposal in fresh and lyrical ways—beginning with paired scenes of the authors as solitary children growing up in very different circumstances on (as they put it) “opposite sides of the world,” then meeting as young friends bonded by streams of rainbow bunting and going on to share their exuberantly hued joy with a group of dancers diverse in terms of age, race, culture, and locale while urging readers to do the same. Though on the whole this comes off as a bit bland (the banter and hilarity that characterized the authors’ recorded interchanges are absent here) and their advice just to look away from the sad things may seem facile in view of what too many children are inescapably faced with, still, it’s hard to imagine anyone in the world more qualified to deliver such a message than these two. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Hundreds of pages of unbridled uplift boiled down to 40. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-48423-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2022
Caregivers may find this useful as a starting point, but this brand-new title already feels dated.
This “First Talk About Online Safety” focuses on interpersonal relationships.
Roberts, a child psychologist, explains social media, personal boundaries, and cyberbullying. Simple, cloying language in the primary narrative contrasts with more sophisticated sidebars, which define terms such as “inappropriate” (inadequately) and “crowdfunding” (well enough). Full-color illustrations and photographs show a multiracial cast of children looking concernedly at smartphones, bathing in the glow of a laptop, or gathering around a tablet. In an apparent attempt to avoid alarming children, the text sacrifices cleareyed communication for vague moralizing. Immediately, readers discover “there are things on the Internet that are not very good,” and while “Most people post things that are interesting or nice to see…sometimes people use the Internet to say unkind things or behave in ways that are inappropriate or mean.” On the subject of boundaries, children learn that “When people on the Internet share too much private information about themselves or someone else, the ones who see it often feel really uncomfortable.” A prescriptive explanation about “Online Friends vs. Real-Life Friends” doesn’t acknowledge differing realities of online friendship and support, and the closing pivots from serious (“Thinking about this stuff makes me kind of uncomfortable and angry”) to optimistic (“How can I use the Internet in a way that will be good for me and others?”) and borders on melodrama.
Caregivers may find this useful as a starting point, but this brand-new title already feels dated. (Informational picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Feb. 19, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4598-2094-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2018
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