picture books

[ribbeting review] A Spoonful of Frogs by Casey Lyall and Vera Brosgol

~ jama ~ 13 Comments

Ah, soup season! 

You know, nothing hits the spot like a tasty bowl of Frog Soup. Made fresh. By a witch.

Welcome to the Bewitching Kitchen cooking show, where our pointy-hatted host will teach you how to make this easy and healthy dish at home.

We first learn that Frog Soup is the witch’s favorite treat. The model of sweetness and light, she joyfully takes us step by step through the recipe. After placing her cauldron on the fire, she adds salt, pepper, 22 (!) cloves of garlic, six potatoes and three carrots. Mustn’t forget a cup of fly extract.

Finally, the most important ingredient of all: a spoonful of frogs – to add “a kick of flavor and a pop of color.”

Well, easier said than done. She gently tries to “place the frogs on the spoon.” Seems they have other ideas – frogs, after all, like to leap, jump and hop. She tries to grab, get, find, scoop, chase, and trap them in a pot.

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[yummy review] Sunday Pancakes by Maya Tatsukawa

~ jama ~ 6 Comments

Raise your paws if you love pancakes. Now twitch your whiskers if you especially like eating them on Sundays. I thought so. 🙂

Just hearing the word “pancake” makes me happy. No wonder: they’re a universally beloved comfort food, a direct line to childhood memories of lazy Sunday morning family breakfasts. Pancakes drenched in maple syrup with pats of butter melting down the sides — yes, please!

Love when there’s another illustration under the book jacket!

Now, reading about pancakes is almost as good as eating them, so I was quite excited when I heard about Sunday Pancakes by Maya Tatsukawa (Dial BFYR, 2022). But. I. absolutely. was. not. prepared for the hug-myself adorableness of this darling book.

So, Cat’s all set to make pancakes but doesn’t have any eggs or milk. What to do? Call friends to see if they have some. Luckily Rabbit has eggs and Moonbear has milk. They’re hungry for pancakes too!

Rabbit zips over to Cat’s house on his scooter, singing as he goes. “Pancakes Flapjacks Hotcakes.” He’s a little hyper and clumsy, so when he hop-trips in the front door some of the food items fly out of his basket. Blueberries, carrots, eggs on the floor – well, not all the eggs (phew!).

Next, Moonbear arrives with a carton of milk and a jar of homemade – “HOOAANNHEY!” (That’s what “honey” sounds like when you’re tripping over a carrot.) 😀

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[review + giveaway] On a Gold-Blooming Day by Buffy Silverman

~ jama ~ 48 Comments

Hello, Autumn!

We can’t think of a better way to celebrate our favorite season than by taking a peek at Buffy Silverman’s brand new picture book, On a Gold-Blooming Day: Finding Fall Treasures (Millbrook Press, 2022).

Just released September 6, it’s the perfect companion to On a Snow-Melting Day: Seeking Signs of Spring (2020).  With spare rhyming verse and gorgeous full-color photos, Buffy showcases some of the fascinating and wondrous ways plants and animals prepare for this season of change.

On a gold-blooming,
bee-zooming,
sun-dazzling day . . . 

Snakes glide.
Spiders hide.
Crickets chirp.
Butterflies slurp.
Fluff lifts.
Seed drifts.

Her pitch perfect, lyrical text is a sheer joy to read aloud with its inventive hyphenated adjectives and rhyming couplets, where choice verbs power a fun, easy rhythm. Who can resist “gold-blooming,” “bee-zooming,” and “sun-dazzling”? Or “rattle-skedaddle,” “scoop-swoop”? From the very beginning, Buffy’s ebullient words pull us right in.

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[review + recipe + giveaway] Abuelita and I Make Flan by Adriana Hernández Bergstrom

~ jama ~ 13 Comments

As soon as I saw “flan” in the title, my mouth began to water and I smiled at the little girl’s joyous face as she peeked into the oven with her grandmother.

What could be nicer than spending the day with a loved one making a family recipe? What  could possibly go wrong? Well . . .

Most of us know that without some sort of conflict there really wouldn’t be a story worth telling, and in Abuelita and I Make Flan, author-illustrator Adriana Hernández Bergstrom cooked up a truly engaging, suspenseful, heartwarming tale that will likely resonate with everyone – unless you happen to be absolutely perfect and have never made a mistake. 😇

Young Anita is excited that her abuela is going to teach her how to make flan for Abuelo’s birthday. Not just any flan, mind you, but the best flan!

Before they even get started, Anita accidentally breaks Abuelita’s crystal flan serving plate – it’s from Cuba and she’s had it forever, before Anita was born.

OH NO.

 Anita has already ruined Abuelo’s birthday. 😦

“Maybe no one will notice?”

Anita knows she should tell Abuelita, but worries about angering or disappointing her, so she decides she will instead strive to be the best helper. After all, she’s usually good at helping Abuelita with things she has difficulty doing because of her arthritis (threading needles, opening jars, undoing knots).

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[soupy review + recipe] Brand-New Bubbe by Sarah Aronson and Ariel Landy

~ jama ~ 18 Comments

What is the secret ingredient that makes for a good soup and a happy family?

Just take a big slurp of Brand-New Bubbe, a brand new picture book by Sarah Aronson and Ariel Landy (Charlesbridge, 2022) to find out.

In this savory story, Jillian is happy to get a nice stepdad when her mom marries Michael. But who ever said anything about a new grandmother?

Jillian already has two: Noni and Gram. Nope, she definitely doesn’t need another one.

Yet here is this frizzy red-haired person asking to be called “Bubbe,” who just doesn’t get the hint. She smothers Jillian with “bright red kissy-lips,” makes plans for holidays Jillian’s never heard of, and is always “kvelling” (or is it “kvetching?”). 

This Bubbe even has the nerve to declare her matzo ball soup the best in the universe! Jillian can’t believe her ears! Nothing can beat Noni’s meatball soup – “except maybe Gram’s spicy gazpacho.”

This definitely calls for a protest!

No matter what Bubbe does, Jillian resists:  she ignores the teddy bear Bubbe gives her, refuses to shoot hoops with her, won’t eat the dinner Bubbe makes with all of Jillian’s favorite foods. 

Not surprisingly, Jillian’s petulance upsets her mother, who urges her – in no uncertain terms – to give Bubbe a chance. When Jillian asserts that she’s not technically related to Bubbe, Mom reminds her that “family is more than blood.” 

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