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FRUITS

Name: FRUITS
Author: Valerie Bloom
ISBN: 0-8050-5171-6

A CARIBBEAN COUNTING POEM

by Valerie Bloom & illustrated by David Axtell ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1997

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From half a pawpaw to ten bananas, a cornucopia of ripe, colorful Caribbean fruits prove irresistible to a young girl and her little sister. Eating and counting her way through a tempting array of fruits such as the guinep, jackfruit, naseberry and sweet-sop, Ö la The Very Hungry Caterpillar, an island youngster becomes predictably sick. First published in Britain as part of a collection, Duppy Jamboree (1992), this edible escapade is in the form of a rhymed poem, spoken in Jamaican dialect. ``Five june-plum, ah can't believe it!/How dem know june-plum's me fav'rit?/But why dem hide dem in de cupboard?/Cho, people can be so awkward.'' Although authentic to the Patwa language, the pronunciations and cadences can, for unpracticed readers, result in a halting tempo rather than the intended rhythmic lilt. Axtell's textured oil paintings of fruits, clothing, and houses are drenched in colors as juicy as sliced watermelon. His first picture book makes bold use of flamingo pinks, pumpkin oranges, key lime aquas, and shiny slicker yellows to season the visual palette from cover to cover, including the apple-red fences on the endpapers. (Picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: March 1, 1997

ISBN: 0-8050-5171-6

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Henry Holt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1997

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
STARS WITH FLAMING TAILS
by Valerie Bloom ; illustrated by Ken Wilson-Max

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CHICKA CHICKA HO HO HO

From the Chicka Chicka Book series

by William Boniface ; illustrated by Julien Chung ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2024

A successful swap from coconut tree to Christmas tree.

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A Christmas edition of the beloved alphabet book.

The story starts off nearly identically to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (1989), written by John Archambault and the late Bill Martin Jr, with the letters A, B, and C deciding to meet in the branches of a tree. This time, they’re attempting to scale a Christmas tree, not a coconut tree, and the letters are strung together like garland. A, B, and C are joined by the other letters, and of course they all “slip, slop, topple, plop!” right down the tree. At the bottom, they discover an assortment of gifts, all in a variety of shapes. As a team, the letters and presents organize themselves to get back up on the Christmas tree and get a star to the top. Holiday iterations of favorite tales often fall flat, but this take succeeds. The gifts are an easy way to reinforce another preschool concept—shapes—and the text uses just enough of the original to be familiar. The rhyming works, sticking to the cadence of the source material. The illustrations pay homage to the late Lois Ehlert’s, featuring the same bold block letters, though they lack some of the whimsy and personality of the original. Otherwise, everything is similarly brightly colored and simply drawn. Those familiar with the classic will be drawn to this one, but newcomers can enjoy it on its own.

A successful swap from coconut tree to Christmas tree. (Picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024

ISBN: 9781665954761

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS

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TEN LITTLE FISH

by Audrey Wood & illustrated by Bruce Wood ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2004

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This charming, colorful counting tale of ten little fish runs full-circle. Although the light verse opens and closes with ten fish swimming in a line, page-by-page the line grows shorter as the number of fish diminishes one-by-one. One fish dives down, one gets lost, one hides, and another takes a nap until a single fish remains. Then along comes another fish to form a couple and suddenly a new family of little fish emerges to begin all over. Slick, digitally-created images of brilliant marine flora and fauna give an illusion of underwater depth and silence enhancing the verse’s numerical and theatrical progression. The holistic story bubbles with life’s endless cycle. (Picture book. 3-5)