 Kioni is busy rounding up her mischievous goats who have roamed away from home and broken into the garden of a Kenyan schoolhouse on soup day. Meanwhile, her friends are gathering ingredients for soup. Just as the goats begin wreaking havoc on the garden, Kioni and her friends problem solve and find a way to make the soup even more delicious. They add goat milk. Striking 3D artwork combining paper sculpture and mixed-media collage illustrate the Kenyan community. A recipe for pumpkin vegetable soup that can be made by children and adults accompanies the story. cc |
| Title: Community Soup Author: Alma Fullerton Illustrator: Alma Fullerton Publisher: Pajama Press, Ontario, Canada Copyright: 2013 Original language: English ISBN: 978-1-927485-27-9 Hardcover pages: 32 Age range: 4-7 Genre: Picture book Book setting: Kenya Author’s residence: Canada Subjects: Community gardens, Community kitchens, Eastern Africa, Goats, Kenya, Social life and customs |
Community Soup
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When Papa Rabbit doesn’t return home as expected after many seasons of working in the great carrot and lettuce fields of El Norte, Pancho sets out on a dangerous journey to find him. He packs up Papa’s favorite meal: mole, rice and beans, warm tortillas and a jug of aguamiel. A cunning coyote offers to guide Pancho on his journey in exchange for some of the sustenance he brought along. The pair travel until all the food is gone and the coyote decides he’s still hungry…for rabbit. In this allegorical tale, Tonatiuh sheds light on the hardships faced by thousands of families who seek out opportunities at better lives for their children and cross the Mexican border into the U.S. illegally. cc
The deadpan, bearded storyteller declares, “Last winter, I found a penguin.” The wayward penguin knew how to fly until some other birds told him that he couldn’t fly. That’s when he crashed. The man takes the penguin home, determined to help the little penguin out. They eat fish sticks together, test the penguin’s body stress level in a clothes dryer, and try all kinds of schemes to get him airborne. Fireworks, ites, and glued-on feathers don’t do the trick. Finally, when he sees a group of penguins flying above, he stretches his wings and takes off. And he “flew pretty well…for a penguin.” The straightforward tone and black-and-white pencil sketches with splashes of color will delight children and adults. This contemporary fable is about believing in yourself and dreaming and creative problem solving. mjw
Snails, elephants, bears, ants, crickets, and squirrels write whimsical letters to one another. Twenty-three little stories are are included. Some are humorous, like The Elephant who cannot keep his balance and The Bear who just wants to eat cake. Some are philosophical, like The Squirrel who wonders about the table and writes a letter to a letter. Tellegen’s world of the imagination is perfectly complemented by Ahlberg’s delicate watercolors. A ribbon bookmark adds to the charm of this little book. mjw
One gorilla, two orangutans, and three chimpanzees lead the way in this portrait gallery of primates. Every face has a distinctive personality and quirky details Larger, more rare creatures appear first, progressing to smaller, more numerous primates like eight macaques, nine colobus monkeys, and ten lemurs. This effective counting book ends with a group portrait of humankind- many ages and ethnicities. “All primates. All one family. All my family…and yours!” Naturalistic, intense watercolors will capture the attention of small children. mjw
In this quiet, rhyming couplet bedtime story, we meet countless cozy animals settling in their beds. Camels snore under quilts in their bunk beds. Lion sleeps on his white lace pillow. Snake dreams in his elongated twin bed. Monkey in his striped pajamas is tucked in with a banana. Paint and collage illustrations are restful and have a folk like quality. mjw
Anna, the youngest child in her large Jamaican family, wants to fetch water and carry it on her head like her brothers and sisters do. But, she cannot even balance an empty coffee can on her head. Anna is determined and she finally does succeed when the cows in Mister Johnson’s field frighten her and she runs home with her full coffee can on her head. She doesn’t spill a drop. The Jamaican landscape, a Jamaican flag, dasheen leaves, and Anna’s family are presented in interesting, bold acrylic paintings in tropical colors. mjw
As Glub the fish swims around in his glass bowl on the counter, he ponders big questions in life: “Who am I?” “What do I need?” “What is a home?” He finds the answers he seeks by listening to the lively, colorful characters who eat at Foster G. Williker’s diner. Through Glub, these characters, including Foster, find answers of their own as they look into the bowl while Glub swims around painting pictures in bubbles of their dreams and long forgotten desires. This power to show people their dreams comes in handy as Glub is able to help Foster achieve his desperate desires of adventure and change . Rich illustrations accompany lively, lyrical dialogue that alternates between humans and Glub’s personal thoughts. cc
Minnie, a fashionable teacup-sized Chihuahua, is a little dog with big style. She does everything with her owner, Francoise. They like to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower, go to their favorite bistro for lunch, and rice their bicycle in the Jardin du Luxembourg. One day, Minnie is invited to the big Paris fashion show but she gets separated from her owner and lost in the chaos of a busy, noisy runway show. The pampered pup becomes the star of the show when a model wearing a wedding dress picks her up and struts down the runway. The model and Minnie meet the flash of a photographer’s camera at the end of the runway and the photo is published in the newspaper the next day. A gorgeous Paris backdrop and adorable outfits make this beautifully illustrated tale perfect for young girls. cc
Lump and Big Dog do not get along. When Lump gets the opportunity to get a break from Big Dog, he eagerly tags along on a trip to France with his master David. At the villa in France, Lump meets the famous painter, Pablo Picasso, and new playmates, Yan the dog and Esmeralda the goat. Picasso is positively enchanted with Lump, whom he calls Lumpito, the two become soulmates, and Lumpito refuses to leave. This charmingly illustrated book is based on the true story of Picasso’s love for a dachshund named Lumptio who became the subject of countless paintings and drawings. cc
“Mary Had A Little Lamb,” the classic rhyme, has been transformed in this bilingual version which takes place in rural Peru. Each straightforward English verse is accompanied with the Spanish translation directly below, making this a perfect read-aloud. Readers are transported to Peru as they read the rhythmically flowing text and view warm gouache and ink illustrations. A wordless picture spread allows students to become authors, making up their own stories. Distinctive Peruvian features such as Andean dress, culture, and landscape are depicted. cc
On Hal’s tenth birthday, he receives a dog that he calls Fleck from Easy Pets. He knows they will be friends for life. But no one tells him that Easy Pets is a rent-a-pet agency and that Fleck has to be returned. Hal and his friend Pippa run away to his grandparents with a pack of escapee dogs from Easy Pets. On their cross country adventures, they meet up with a circus, a detective, greedy adults, and wonderful friends. This light, fun story about Hal and his dog, loyalty, and determination has a happy ending. All of the dogs find the right owners to belong to. mjw
