Review by Booklist Review
Isadora presents the five senses in a large-format picture book featuring several small pictures of children on every spacious double-page spread. Each of the book's five sections focuses on one of the senses, illustrated by a large, multicultural cast of toddler and preschool characters. For example, on a two-page spread in the I SMELL section, one hungry child smells a loaf of bread, while another smells burnt toast. A third smells pizza and says, Yum! A fourth, sniffing cheese, says, Stinky! The fifth says, I don't smell. I have a cold. Aachooo! Isadora's simple ink drawings, brightened with watercolors, have an unpretentious charm. Each character appears in a little scene, typically with a few props and, in one case, the suggestion of a background. The clean, white pages provide spacious settings for the characters, whose actions, reactions, and observations will intrigue young kids. Well designed for raising awareness of the senses, this is fine for reading aloud in a group setting and particularly effective one-on-one.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2015 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
As in her earlier books, simplicity is the defining note of Isadora's (Bea at Ballet) inviting introduction to the senses. In five color-coded sections, one for each sense, multicultural kids take turns describing things they hear, smell, see, touch, or taste. Drawing from everyday experiences in a child's life, Isadora pays tribute to the senses, as well as to the natural world, friends, family, food, pets, curiosity, and discovery. "I hear the drums. Too loud!" a boy with a buzz cut tells readers, fingers firmly planted in his ears. "I smell bread. I'm hungry!" says a girl as she climbs onto a stool to get a closer look at the round loaf cooling on the counter. Things the children "don't" experience are just as important, adding cautionary notes (one boy doesn't touch the stove), revealing personal preferences ("I don't want to taste the spinach"), or showing how the world works ("The lamp is off. I don't see!"). Isadora's book brims with teachable moments, yet it's her expressive ink and watercolor vignettes that steal the spotlight. Ages 2-5. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-Isadora explores common sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures from a preschooler's perspective in this winsome sensory tour. Combining short, declarative sentences with colorful ink and watercolor vignettes, the cheerful spreads showcase a cast of diverse, expressive kids in their everyday worlds. A final page, featuring the titular pickle, cleverly ties everything together into a delicious whole and invites repeated sharing. © Copyright 2016. 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
Starting with a clever, attention-grabbing title, Isadoras book about the five senses is aimed perfectly at another sensekids sense of humor. Separate sections, beginning with sound and ending with taste, visit each sense in double-page spreads that contain small vignettes of children exploring their world, both indoors and out. Brief sentences describe what each child hears, smells, sees, touches, or tastes. Frequent statements about what the child doesnt sense add levity: I see the turtles shell but I dont see the turtle; I dont smell. I have a cold. Interjections throughout, printed in italics, add read-aloud pleasure: I touch my brothers foot. Hee-hee. / I dont touch my boo-boo. Ouch! / I dont touch the plug. No-no! Certain items are revisited in different sections: I dont hear the snow fallingI see the snow. I dont see my mitten. Delicate ink and watercolor illustrations on white backgrounds nicely elicit a young childs point of view, such as when a girl peering over a counter can just barely see the pizza she smells. The final page wraps things up by going back to the titular pickle in all its sensory glory: I taste the pickle. / Its sour, and so on until I hear the pickleCRUNCH! Be sure to have a jar of baby dills on hand for this one. jennifer m. brabander (c) Copyright 2016. 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
Only the last page features the titular picklethe rest of the book is a tribute to the five senses that will resonate with young readers. Highlighting sensory experiences that will be familiar to the majority of readers, Isadora focuses on one sense at a time, progressing from hearing to smelling, seeing, touching, and tasting (readers can track their progress with a list in the upper right of each spread); she devotes three spreads to all but taste, which gets only two. An ethnically diverse group of young children tell readers what they senseor don'tin simple declarative sentences that are sometimes embellished by the kids' thoughts: "I don't smell. I have a cold." "I don't see the words in my book. / I wear my glasses. I see the words!" "I touch the egg. Oops!" While one girl enjoys PBJ, another says, "I taste a jelly sandwich. I'm allergic to peanuts." Isadora's ink-and-watercolor artwork uses vignettes and white backgrounds to bring each sense to the forefront, and children of most skin and hair colors will find at least one face like their own in these pages (glasses are the only depicted disability, however). Teachers, make sure this is on your shelvesit's a great read-aloud, an easy read for beginning readers, and a model for student books. (Picture/concept book. 3-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
