Soup Day: A Picture Book

PreS-Gr 2--On a snow-speckled day, a mother and daughter approach the greenmarket as the child announces, "Today is soup day." With economical text and vivid, multitextured collages whose upbeat charm belies their sophistication, the process of preparing the dish unfolds. In one spread, Iwai cleverly offers lessons about numbers, colors, sizes, textures, and what various vegetables look like. "This is what we put in our basket: One bunch of crispy green celery. Two shiny yellow onions....Six big white mushrooms. Ooops! We almost forgot the parsley." Back at home, mother and daughter cut up and cook the vegetables, and, while the soup simmers, read together, build a city out of blocks, hide from a monster, and have a tea party. Then they add seasoning and the girl's choice of pasta. While the alphabet noodles cook, it's cleanup time. Daddy's home, and the family eats soup together. The recipe is included. A perfect meal and a perfect book.--Susan Weitz, formerly at Spencer-Van Etten School District, Spencer, NY

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

"I loved this book! If only it had been around when my daughter Melissa was little, maybe I would have made something for dinner other than reservations!" —Joan Rivers

"Iwai's writing debut beautifully depicts the loving relationship between a mother and daughter... Ordinariness made extraordinary." —Kirkus Reviews, STARRED review

"A perfect meal and a perfect book." —School Library Journal

"Idyllic and cozy with colorful, textured illustrations, the book also offers a perfect recipe for tiny hands." —Associated Press

"The brightly colored illustrations—combining acrylics, fabric and paper collage, and digital elements—offer plenty of familiar elements for young children to identify and new ones to explore, such as six kinds of pasta pictured on one page. Satisfying for reading aloud." —Booklist