book reviews (all genres)

soup of the day: forest has a song by amy ludwig vanderwater and robbin gourley

~ jama ~ 62 Comments

The chickadees in our woods are chirping the happy news: today, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater’s very first poetry book, Forest Has a Song (Clarion, 2013), is officially out in the wild! Hip hip hooray!

As I’ve said many times before, this is a big reason to celebrate because there is only one “first book” in an author’s life. This moment in time usually represents years of writing, hoping and waiting. No matter how many books Amy publishes down the road, this one will always hold a special place in her heart.

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Proud author with her new book baby.

Like me, many of you know Amy through Poetry Friday and her wonderful Poem Farm blog. Did you also follow along as she posted a poem every day for an entire year back in 2010? I’ve been honored to share several of her poems right here at Alphabet Soup: she was a Poetry Potluck guest in 2011, sharing her famous Pineapple Slices, she brought a peanut butter jellyfish sandwich to our Peanut Butter Lovers Month celebration not too long ago, and her lovely poem “Apple Pockets” was featured in Nicole Gulotta’s guest post.

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friday feast: a peek at world rat day by j. patrick lewis and anna raff

~ jama ~ 50 Comments

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Usually I don’t like to say this in polite company, but ahem . . .  I smell a rat!

Actually four rats, nattily sporting bowtie, necktie, fedora, and boater, casually working the stripes, football jerseys, overalls, scuba gear and yes, bunny ears, as they boogie, strut, scamper and cavort through the pages of this brand new poetry collection by our studly but relentlessly mischievous Children’s Poet Laureate, J. Patrick Lewis.

Due props to him and award-winning illustrator Anna Raff for creating this zany celebration of 22 “Real Holidays You’ve Never Heard Of ” in World Rat Day (Candlewick, 2013), destined to be an instant favorite among munchkins and short grown-ups who enjoy quirky-fun animal poems, what poet Bobbi Katz calls “ear food for elementary school kids.”

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a big spoonful of excitement: tiger in my soup by kashmira sheth and jeffrey ebbeler

~ jama ~ 43 Comments

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Friends, you need to get your big fat paws on this brand new picture book. Talk about a roarin’ good time!

Here I was, my meek, mild-mannered self minding my own business, when this ferociously funny SOUP BOOK growled at me. Open me, read me, devour me, it said, slurp. up. every. word! Who am I to ignore such a request?

Seriously. I didn’t stand a chance from the get-go. When I opened the book, I saw this:

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Aahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

See what I mean? Look at the endpapers! I want to marry them.

In Tiger in My Soup by Kashmira Sheth and Jeffrey Ebbeler (Peachtree Publishers, 2013), a young boy left in the care of his older sister begs her to read his favorite tiger book to him. Alas and alack, she is too absorbed in her own book to pay him any attention, prompting the boy to pull out his most imaginative stops to get her to change her mind.

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guest post: shelley rotner and sheila m. kelly on yummy!

~ jama ~ 10 Comments

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How do you get kids involved in making healthy food choices that will set them on the right track for the rest of their lives?

Feasting on Yummy!: Good Food Makes Me Strong by Shelley Rotner and Sheila M. Kelly (Holiday House, 2013), is a good place to start. 🙂

This gorgeous photo essay features an adorable, diverse group of kids reveling in the pleasures of growing, preparing and eating healthful foods. They’re shown in a variety of everyday settings (kitchen, playground, grocery store, garden) stirring oatmeal, pouring milk, devouring fruits, sandwiches, pizza, yogurt, and soup (!), picking fresh veggies, assembling tacos and green salads, making fruit shakes and freezer pops, even reading package labels in the supermarket. Just look at those happy, eager faces on the cover — who wouldn’t want to eat exactly what they’re eating?

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Of course since it’s actually parents and caregivers who buy and cook the food, Shelley and Sheila have also included helpful tips for them, all in accordance with the new USDA MyPlate Guidelines. Additional photos showing kids engaged in active play illustrates the importance of daily exercise along with a healthy diet, reinforcing the overall theme of “Good Food Makes Me Strong!”

I’m happy to welcome Shelley and Sheila, who are here today to tell us about how they created Yummy! You’ll be inspired to share this delectable book and eat some feel-good food with your favorite munchkin(s) very soon!

Note: Because of copyright restrictions, the photos used in this post are close facsimiles rather than actual photos from Yummy!.

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author chat: kelly starling lyons on tea cakes for tosh

~ jama ~ 20 Comments

tea cakes cover

They’re light and buttery, a little chewy, just a touch of brown around the edges. The fragrance of vanilla and cinnamon wafts through the kitchen as they gently puff up in the oven.

Some describe it as a soft, old-fashioned sugar cookie; some say they are neither cookie nor cake, but most agree that Southern tea cakes are all about childhood, family, and a big ole batch of feel-good memories. If a bite of Southern cuisine could hug you, the tea cake would be it.

I would be lying if I didn’t confess that Tea Cakes for Tosh (Putnam, 2012) had me at the title along with the picture of the grandmother and grandson on the cover. Certainly their special bond is the heartbeat of this tender, multi-layered intergenerational tale so lovingly told by Kelly Starling Lyons and masterfully illustrated by Caldecott Honor and Coretta Scott King Award winner E.B. Lewis.

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