School Library Journal Review
PreS-Three preschool friends cook up a creative garden party menu. Malik makes a "yummy mud pie," Suki stirs a pot of soup "made from puddle water and pebbles, with a splash of raindrops," and Dylan's dessert features twigs and dandelions. The repeated refrain of "Will [s]he eat it?" is answered with, "Oh no, no, no." Their concoctions are for the enjoyment of the chickadees, frogs, and worms. Bloom's sunny, naive watercolor illustrations show the children joyfully playing in the dirt while a shaggy dog and a black cat watch with curiosity. After they work up a real appetite, Nana calls them for a picnic lunch. This celebration of imaginative, outdoor fun is a tasty treat.-Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ontario, Canada (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Getting dirty has never been so much fun.Creative preschoolers (and one toddling babe) explore the garden's rich, natural wonders. Each youngster concocts an inventive mix of dirt and grub, not for his or her own consumption but for the critters flying and hopping nearby. With gleeful abandon, the gardeners throw themselves into their activity, while the youngest participant cautiously observes until he serves colorful leaves for his stuffed friends' tea party. A question-and-response format encourages further discovery. "Dylan made a dirt dessert from roots and twigs / and chunks and clumps and dandelions. / Will he eat it? // Oh no, no, no. / He made it for the wiggly worms." Worn out from their morning play, the kids enjoy their own picnic from unseen Nana ("sticky bits, / crunchy munchies, pink drinks" included), and a well-deserved snooze soon follows. Page turns both maintain the pacing and call for participation. Watercolors focus on outdoor scenes dominated by appropriately earthy tones, and the children's unique physical styles (from a wide-brimmed straw hat to a smattering of messy pigtails) shine.Give two green thumbs up for the joy of mud pies everywhere. (Picture book. 2-5) ]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
