An age-appropriate informational picture book offering a sunny celebration of farming.
In this farm-themed picture book, children learn the sources of the foods they eat.
Framed around children’s mealtimes, this cheery picture book by Detlefsen (If You Had a Jetpack, 2018, etc.) and from the publishing arm of the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture pays tribute to farmers and farming. Illustrated with idyllic scenes of farmers at work and a diverse mix of children, the book begins with a little girl about to eat her pancake breakfast. The stories of farmers, her mother tells her, are “right here on your table,” and “Right this very minute,” farmers are in orchards testing juice oranges for ripeness, readying a field for planting wheat, and collecting maple sap for syrup. On subsequent pages, children learn how snack-time cranberries and peanuts are farmed and how lunchboxes hold the “hard work of so many,” from dairy farmers to carrot growers and beekeepers. Dinner puts the spotlight on cattle ranchers and vegetable growers. The upbeat narrative, which includes child-accessible facts about crop rotation, soil sensors, and how produce gets to market, is complemented by the warm appeal of the observant, full-page illustrations by Kurilla (Wild Fairies #2: Lily's Water Woes, 2018, etc.). One caution: this book isn’t written with vegetarians in mind or for children not ready for the reality of what happens to many animals on a farm.
An age-appropriate informational picture book offering a sunny celebration of farming.Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-948898-00-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feeding Minds Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
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A nice but not requisite purchase.
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.
Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.
A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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