FRIDGE AND OVEN'S BIG JOB
From the Big Jobs series
by Steven Weinberg ; illustrated by Steven Weinberg
Fridge and Oven team up for an important job—making chocolate chip cookies.
After introducing the anthropomorphized kitchen appliances, the book identifies their roles in the task at hand, from storing the ingredients to cooking the dough, and walks readers through the main steps of the baking process. Cute quips—cookies are "DELICIOUS! JUST NOT WITH BROCCOLI”—add a sprinkling of humor. Every item on the page is labeled with arrows, even those in the background, like the cookbook, kettle, and oven mitts, clarifying details that are sure to pique the curiosity of sharp-eyed tots. Arms and hands are shown mixing the cookie batter and moving things around, revealed at the end to belong to two small, brown-skinned children who share the cookies. The board book is shaped to look like a fridge and oven standing side by side, and Fridge and Oven have tactile googly eyes on the cover. The freehand cartoon drawings, using a minimal color palette dominated by oranges and reds, are lively and engaging. Two similar titles, Washer and Dryer’s Big Job and Dishwasher’s Big Job, feature other jiggly-eyed household machines and the steps they go through to wash and clean.
A fun, novel concept perfect for little readers eager to learn about the uses of familiar domestic items.
(Board book. 2-5)