What's an apple?

PreS-Gr 1-Young children and their pets use their imagination in these rhythmic stories about the fun that can be had with everyday objects like a piece of fruit. Pizzoli gives readers colorful cartoon illustrations that match Singer's simple, rhyming texts. In the first title, children use bananas in a variety of innovative ways: "You can share it./You can wear it-/it's a funny yellow hat!/You can squeeze it./You can freeze it./Please don't throw it at the cat." In the second book, the different ways to eat and play with an apple are described in the same type of singsong rhyme: "You can pick it./You can kick it./You can throw away the core./You can toss it./You can sauce it./You can roll it on the floor." Each selection ends with a proclamation that the item is a fruit and we should eat it, but readers will enjoy the creative uses of the fruit more than the nutritional advice. VERDICT These are recommended additions to any picture book collection, as they will delight parents and young children and catch the interest of newly independent readers.-Kristen Todd-Wurm, Middle Country Public Library, NY © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Using rhyme and wordplay, two children, a dog, and a cat highlight different things you can do with the titular fruit in each book. While many of the descriptions are clever and creative, others are peculiar and force the rhyme (e.g., "You can snuggle it [an apple], or juggle it, or put it in a pile"). Still, the inventiveness and cartoonlike illustrations should engage young children. [Review covers these titles: What's a Banana? and What's an Apple?] (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.