Food For Thought [Hardcover]

Joost Elffers (Author), Saxton Freymann (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2005 | Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

The five concepts every child must learn -- shapes, colors, numbers, ABCs, and opposites -- all in one outrageous book of vivacious veggies and fruits.

The authors of HOW ARE YOU PEELING? serve up a cornucopia of concepts in this big book for brilliant babies. Shapes: Is that a carrot, or a triangle? Colors: Watch for peppers in every range of the rainbow. Numbers: A zero-to-ten zoo! ABCs: A full produce section of sculptures acts out the alphabet. And Opposites: You've never seen Up/Down and Big/Little like this before! Every time we think Saxton Freymann can do no more with bok choy or broccoli, he astonishes us all over again. And this book is one-stop shopping for all parents' early-childhood education needs. Try some FOOD FOR THOUGHT!

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1–Smiling oranges, mushroom "men," pepper "people," bananas that look like giraffes, eggplant penguins, and cauliflower sheep are just a few of the delightful food sculptures that grace the pages of this fun, educational offering. Freymann explores various concepts including shapes, colors, numbers, letters, and opposites with the help of his signature vegetable and fruit characters. The concepts are well executed, and although the triangular carrot does not have perfectly straight lines, its shape is recognizable. Children will thoroughly enjoy the clever artwork and adorable characters. A visual treat.–Melinda Piehler, Sawgrass Elementary School, Sunrise, FL

From Booklist

*Starred Review* PreS. Freymann and Elffers previously used their ingenious food sculptures to introduce concepts in How Are You Peeling (1999) and One Lonely Sea Horse (2000). They have truly perfected their craft in this winning collection that covers basic shapes, colors, numbers, letters, and opposites--all introduced through images of artfully manipulated fruits and vegetables. Solid, candy-colored backgrounds showcase an irresistible cast of produce-part creatures, which, thanks to a few inspired cuts, reflect an astonishing assortment of expressions and personalities. The simple, clean design is ideal for demonstrating the concepts; the uncluttered spreads make counting and identification easy. But it's the playful, wonderfully clever transformation of familiar foods that will win an audience; preschoolers will howl gleefully over glistening green-pepper frogs and a snowman of stacked mushroom caps, who toasts his marshmallow over fruit-skin flames. Fans of their previous books will find much that is familiar here, but in this mix of concept and unabashed food play, the authors get the formula just right. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books (February 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439110181
• ISBN-13: 978-0439110181
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 9.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #87,066 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tutti Fruity, February 13, 2005

By 

Anne B. Levy "bookbuds.net" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Food For Thought (Hardcover)

Someone forgot to tell this duo not to play with their food. Thank goodness, or kids wouldn't have such startling sculptures of bok choy fish or cauliflower sheep to teach them basic concepts: colors, shapes, numbers, letters and opposites. Eye-catching colors and uncluttered layouts keep this fruity menagerie moving along.

The foods are real -- and after several readings, I'm still scrutinizing the pages to see just how the artists did it. Even knowing they used black-eyed peas for eyes doesn't affect the magic: How did they find all those peppers with silly faces? How come my bruised bananas never look like giraffes?

I brought this book to my son's pre-school and the teacher didn't want to part with it: the kids wouldn't let her put it down. You'll never look at salad the same way again.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Usually, I'm disappointed with kids' books -- but WOW!, July 26, 2005

By 

Nanette "Tucker and Tasha's mom" (Jacksonville, Florida USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Food For Thought (Hardcover)

Hi,
I'm a picky parent -- I admit it. My standards for books for my kids are very high. I guess it's because I'm a professional writer and editor and my husband is a newspaper publisher. We expect lively, imaginative writing with substance, not just empty calories for our children's minds.

My three-year-old snatched this book off the library shelves. I let her check it out, but didn't plan to do much more than flip through it. When I opened it -- wow!

This book teaches concepts like numbers, opposites and more in the most imaginative way I've seen. My husband and I agreed this was a book we had to have on our shelves.

The only problem with that is this: My husband figured the best place for it would be the kitchen -- so I could try to duplicate the cool things with our family foods. Yeah, right! Far better to keep it on the coffee table. A benefit -- my kids are becoming charmed by vegetables and more willing to see them on their plates!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Charming vegetable characters, February 4, 2005

By 

S. C. Hsu - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Food For Thought (Hardcover)

This is a book that I never tire of reading again and again. The characters are so lovely and yet they are all real - all cleverly put together from real fruits and vegetables. I particularly like the mushroom "michelin man" and the "shouting" orange. It is unbelievable that there are so many weird peppers that naturally show convincing expressions. Wonderful book full of surprises.