Review by Booklist Review
This first in a projected series of cooking and crafting books stars Florentine, a curly-haired little girl in a striped sweater, flowered dress, and red boots, and her friend Pig, whose expressive, goofy features make him look as if he bounced out of a Sandra Boynton book. The premise is simple: it's a beautiful day, Florentine says, so why don't they have a picnic? Pig, the straight man throughout, is agog at everything Florentine does, starting with the creation of a menu of apple and carrot muffins, rainbow-sprinkle cookies, hummus, tarts, and so on. A complication arises when Florentine realizes Pig has eaten the last apple, but Pig, using a telescope, wooden spoon, and ladder, climbs an apple tree and rescues the picnic. Mikhail's cozy comic illustrations guide the reader to the picnic itself, which looks good enough to propel young cooks into the kitchen (yes, recipes are appended). Readers of Mollie Katzen's Pretend Soup and Other Real Recipes (1994) and adults who want their kids to learn a few kitchen skills will love this can-do book.--Fletcher, Connie Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Florentine and her porcine sidekick are planning a "very lovely picnic" that includes apple and carrot muffins along with other delicious treats. But when it's discovered that Pig has eaten the last apple in the house, the little porker must gird his hams and climb a very tall tree to fetch three more. True, it's not the most gripping narrative, but Katzler and Mikhail's real interest is in the cooking and baking of the picnic food itself, which consumes the second half of the book. And their story-with-recipes conceit works. Mikhail's characters have endearingly wide eyes and oodles of energy, and Katzler's text is as satisfying as an expertly executed souffle (it's particularly tempting to read Florentine's dialogue with a fluttering British trill). The book concludes with recipes for all the picnic fare, as well as instructions for making a festive picnic bunting. The book's audience may not know Martha Stewart from Adam, but it's a good bet that this duo will entice readers to at least dabble in cooking and crafts. Ages 3-6. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-3-Florentine and her friend Pig decide that the weather has finally turned nice enough to have a picnic outdoors, and the pigtailed girl immediately gets to work on the menu. The final bill of fare includes apple and carrot muffins, rainbow sprinkle cookies, and homemade pink lemonade with berry ice cubes. However, because Pig ate the last apple at breakfast, they are missing a crucial ingredient. He spots three perfect apples high up in their apple tree and, after loading up with everything he thinks he'll need, including a wooden spoon and jam sandwich for a snack, he sets off to retrieve them. Climbing up to the top of the tree proves to be a difficult, but ultimately successful endeavor. With apples now in hand, the two pull together a delicious feast. Mikhail's illustrations are bright and charming, and have a bucolic and homey feel; they resemble somewhat lighter versions of Mary Engelbreit's works. Unfortunately, the book does not have much of a plot, making it a supplemental purchase.-Roxanne Burg, Orange County Public Library, CA (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
In this British import, little girl Florentine and her friend Pig (a pig) decide to have a picnic. They gather all the ingredients to make their favorite treats, which involves a trip up the apple tree. The picnic preparation details are sweet and engaging. Illustrations show rosy-cheeked characters amidst polka dots, stripes, and floral patterns. Recipes and craft activities are appended. (c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
With help from her silent porcine buddy, a young cook concocts picnic treats--some of which are more yummy than feasible. The six recipes (plus a craft project) may appear at the end, but they're really the centerpiece of the tale. The lack of apples for Florentine's Apple and Carrot Muffins with Sunshine Lemon Icing provides a temporary setback, but Pig overcomes it, charging up a tree on a "crunchy apple mission." That's pretty much it as far as the story goes. A subsequent one-spread whirl of kitchen activity produces a bountiful basketful of snacks, from Cheddar Cheese and Pumpkin Seed Bites and Sticky Red Onion Hummus with Cucumber Dunkers to Homemade Lemonade with Fresh Berry Ice Cubes. The plot is strictly perfunctory, and Mikhail's mixed-media cartoon scenes of a pop-eyed, frizzy-haired lass and her sweater-clad sidekick add more light than motion to the enterprise. Even more problematically, though most of the directions are clear enough for young novices to follow (with adult help suggested for some steps), the cheese-andpumpkin-seed mixture is supposed to be cooked in "paper cups" for half an hour (cupcake liners are depicted, but young cooks who don't know better may encounter disaster). Also, the Rainbow Sprinkle Cookie recipe pairs an entire cup of butter to only 11/4 cups of flour, which would yield some very flat, fatty cookies. A mouthwatering menu, but not much else. (foreword to parents) (Picture book. 6-8)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
