Blackberry Banquet [Hardcover]

Terry Pierce (Author), Lisa Downey (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

Mmm-mm! Forest animals squeak, tweet, slurp, yip and chomp over the sweet, plump fruit of a wild blackberry bush. But what happens when a bear arrives to take part in the feast? Young children will enjoy following the story by making the animal sounds, and the chaos that strikes upon the bear's arrival will surely bring on the laughter. The cumulative, rhyming text makes for a great read-aloud. The For Creative Minds educational section includes: -Blackberry Fun Facts -How we eat blackberries (with smoothie recipe) -Plants are the bottom of the food chain -Plants and Animals -How do animals help plants? Are plants always good?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3—A mouse, bluebird, squirrel, fox, and deer are all enjoying blackberries until Bear stops by for his share of the fruit. All scatter in fear, except the bluebird, who swoops in and takes the last berry right off the bear's paw. The rhyming text and repetition make this an enjoyable read-aloud: "Squirrel skips into the brambles thick./That snacking squirrel gives a great big lick./Slurp! Mmm-mm!/Tweet! Mmm-mm!/Squeak! Mmm-mm!" The illustrations give the fairly realistic animals great facial expressions that work perfectly with the text. The surprise they show when the bear arrives is a comic delight. An especially nice touch is the berry stains on all the faces—except poor Bear's. The last four pages, "For Creative Minds," offer information on blackberries, the food chain, native and nonnative plants, how plants and animals help each other, and a smoothie recipe. This section is for a variety of ages and can easily be modified to fit a specific grade level.—Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH
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Review

Teachers can't go wrong with this entertaining book and the activities that contain math, science, geography, and language arts lessons. --Children's Literature Comprehensive Database

A thoughtful children's book that both entertains and educates, highly recommended. --Midwest Book Review

The spirited rhyme and rhythm of the energetic text will delight the read aloud crowd. Each animal's spirit is captured in the colorful, bold illustrations kids will love. --Families Online Magazine

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Sylvan Dell Publishing (May 13, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 193435970X
• ISBN-13: 978-1934359709
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,397,606 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

TERRY PIERCE is the author of seventeen children's books, her most recent works being BLACKBERRY BANQUET (Sylvan Dell Publishing), a sweet pick for young readers everywhere. Her other books include TAE KWON DO! (Random House Step-Into-Reading, 2007 Bank Street College Best Children's Books),MOTHER GOOSE RHYMES (Picture Window Book, AEP Distinguished Achievement Award), and books for young readers about Hawaii. A former Montessori teacher, she now writes full-time, teaches children's writing workshops and is a visiting author to elementary schools. To learn more about Terry, please visit her at http://www.terrypiercebooks.com or http://www.terrypierce.blogspot.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stories for Children Magazine 5 Star Review, August 29, 2008

By 

Virginia S. Grenier "Children's Author & Stor... (Ivins, Utah USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blackberry Banquet (Hardcover)

Reviewed by: Gayle Jacobson-Huset

What a charming rhyming book - I loved it! Author Terry Pierce's carefully chosen words are perfect, and the illustrations by Lisa Downey are kid-friendly and hilarious. I especially loved the expressions on the animals' faces. There's a yummy blackberry bush in the forest, and the animals are enjoying eating all the blackberries until . . . well, you'll just have to read this story to find out what happens. This is a very funny book that gets a high five from me for keeping me interested and laughing with each turn of the page. I give this picture book another high five for great text, great illustrations, and great fun while learning! Could you tell I really liked this book?

Watch for my Featured Guest interview with the author in our December 08 issue of Stories for Children Magazine to learn more about this wonderful book.

As with all Sylvan Dell books, there's a section at the end called For Creative Minds that is also available online. This section contains: "Blackberries", "How Do We Eat Blackberries", there's a recipe for "Blackberry Smoothie", "Plants Are the Bottom of the Food Chain", "Plants and Animals", "How Do Animals Help Plants?" and "Are Plants Always Good?" I especially liked these topics - all were truly wonderful for explaining the relationship between plants and animals, and how they depend on each other. It gives children lots to think about.

I was also pleased to see that experts from various agencies in Oregon were verifying the accuracy of this book. The blackberries and all the other berries growing wild in Oregon are the best I've ever tasted. No wonder the forest animals loved to snack on this blackberry bush!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What a tasty and noisy fun read, June 30, 2008

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blackberry Banquet (Paperback)

In the woods, near a stream there is a blackberry bush. The limbs are chock full of berries and all the animals from the woods come to slurp and chomp on the fruit of that blackberry bush.

Told in rhyme, children will delight in the story of Blackberry Banquet, and they have the opportunity to make the sounds of the animals as they feast. The chaos that ensues when a bear appears is bound to make the children laugh out loud. I suspect it will also bring a smile to the faces of the adults reading the story.

Like the other Sylvan Dell books, when Blackberry Banquet is done, it's not really done at all. Turn the page and there are fun facts about plants and animals for the children to enjoy.

Blackberry Banquet is a fun-filled book with grand illustrations that children will love to see as they follow the story.

Armchair Interviews says: Another great offering from Sylvan Dell.

5.0 out of 5 stars A thoughtful children's book that both entertains and educates, September 6, 2008

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blackberry Banquet (Hardcover)

Blackberry Banquet is a simple, exuberantly rhyming children's picturebook about a number of forest animals who delight in eating blackberries. "Mouse appears and she reaches high. / The munching mouse gives a merry sigh. / Squeak! Mmm-mm!" An extra "for creative minds" section includes fascinating facts about blackberries, including the warning "Do not pick and eat berries unless an adult is positive that they are edible (some berries can be poisonous) and haven't been sprayed with pesticides." These final pages educate young readers about the role of plants in the food web, how animals help plants, and more, including a final warning about blackberry bushes: "In some places, certain types of blackberries are considered to be invasive... Blackberry bushes can become very brambly and sometimes grow near water sources. In some places, this could make it difficult for animals to get to their food or water." A thoughtful children's book that both entertains and educates, highly recommended.