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FAMOUS SEAWEED SOUP

Name: FAMOUS SEAWEED SOUP
Author: Antoinette Truglio Martin
ISBN: 9781955119399

by Antoinette Truglio Martin ; illustrated by Penny Weber ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 9, 2023

An enjoyable revision of an endearing story.

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Awards & Accolades

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A little girl gathers materials for make-believe soup in this updated picture-book reissue.

Sara and her family are spending a day at the beach. As Mommy and Daddy unpack and get baby Hallie settled, Sara announces it’s time to make her Famous Seaweed Soup. The story is a riff on "The Little Red Hen": “Sara asked, ‘Who will help me stir in the sand for my Famous Seaweed Soup?’ ‘Not I,’ replied Daddy. ‘I’m teaching Hallie how to swim.’ ‘Not I,’ replied Mommy. ‘I‘m reading my book.’ ” Sara collects seawater, two kinds of seaweed, sand, shells, feathers, and even snails (promising to return them). When the soup is completed, the fable’s moral is delightfully subverted—everyone who didn’t help must pretend to eat it. Weber’s full-color illustrations are new, but the text is mostly the same as the 1990s version (notably, the term “radio station” has been changed to playlist). Previously, Sara and her family all appeared White in the original illustrations; in this new version, Sara’s dad is White, her mom is Black with natural hair, and the kids have brown skin and brown curly hair. The images offer a nice update to the tale, beautifully rendered in a realistic watercolor style that perfectly captures a day at the beach in a story that’s as sweet as ever.

An enjoyable revision of an endearing story.

Pub Date: May 9, 2023

ISBN: 9781955119399

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Purple Butterfly Press

Review Posted Online: April 17, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
FAMOUS SEAWEED SOUP
by Antoinette Truglio Martin & illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott

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THE WORLD NEEDS THE WONDER YOU SEE

by Joanna Gaines ; illustrated by Julianna Swaney ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 28, 2025

Handy advice for perpetually inquisitive children.

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Interior decorator and TV personality Gaines invites readers to open their eyes and exercise their imaginations.

There’s a world to be explored out there—and only children can really take part. What does “looking for wonder” entail? Slowing down and looking up, around, and everywhere. At the outset, a group of eager, racially diverse young friends—including one who uses a wheelchair—are fully prepared for a grand adventure. They offer tips about how and where to look: Why, there’s a “grand parade” of marching ants! And, these kids add, perspective is key. A rainy day might signal gloom to some, but to those filled with wonder, showers bring “magic puddles for play”; a forest is “an enchanted world,” the ocean conceals “a spectacular city,” and the night sky boasts “extraordinary sights.” The takeaway: “Wonder is never in short supply.” It’s a robust, empowering message, as is the exhortation to “keep your mind open, and let curiosity guide the way.” Youngsters are also advised to share their discoveries. The upbeat narrative is delivered in clunky verse, but the colorful cartoonish illustrations brimming with activity and good cheer (including some adorable anthropomorphized animals in the backgrounds) make up for the textual lapses and should motivate readers to embark on their own “wonder explorations.”

Handy advice for perpetually inquisitive children. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2025

ISBN: 9781400247417

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Tommy Nelson

Review Posted Online: today

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WORLD NEEDS WHO YOU WERE MADE TO BE
by Joanna Gaines ; illustrated by Julianna Swaney

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)