Lorena Siminovich
(Templar Publishing)
I Like Peas is one of two new titles from Petit Collage, a touch and feel board book collection from Templar Publishing. This particular title uses the theme of vegetables and vegetable-growing to illustrate some simple example of opposites: above-below (carrot), inside-outside (peas), tall-short (corn), big-small (pumpkin), empty-full (vegetable basket). The touch and feel features bring a lovely tactile experience for the young readers.
“I Like Peas”: what a lovely statement to make from the start and what a lovely theme to use and to promote to the youngest audience. I think this is definitely one of the strengths of this book, making it stand out from many other similar offerings.
I enjoyed the really natural look of the book: the use of vibrant colours which really bring the vegetables to life, the use of collage within the illustrations, the background which looks like wood. It is like you are looking in someone’s shed, having a peek at someone’s allotment. The whole ambiance of the book promotes an eco-friendly, almost pro self-sufficiency, message, which is a really positive thing.
I hope that using vegetables to illustrate the opposites will in turn encourage parents to introduce those vegetables to their children; the use of collage and bright colours do such a great job of making the vegetables beautiful and attractive, it would be a shame not to take full advantage of it! Afterall, isn’t the last statement of the book, “I Like Vegetables”, what we all hope our offspring will one day declare?
Sent for review by publisher
I am desperate for Milo to declare that he likes vegetables (as opposed to the eternal cry of “cheese and crackers please mummy!”). I think I might get him this as a spring planting present when we start up the old veggie patch again. It looks like a lovely book and our boy really needs a greater understanding of healthy food and where it comes from!
My son is 8 and we have really turned a corner this year with veg. He ate them because he had to (apart from courgettes and muchrooms – both no go) before but now he doesn’t need prompting as much.
I think this is a great little book, it would be a lovely present for Milo.
We need to sort out our veggie patch too :0)