A spoonful of faith

PreS-Gr 2--A story about what helps when you're feeling worried. Layla is nervous about starting school, but her mother gets out a recipe book to help her face her fears. Using phrases such as "dashes of kindness" and "handfuls of hope" (depicted as swirling stars, hearts, and flowers), the story depicts Layla's realization that the real thing that helps is God's love, which she already has. With this reminder, she feels empowered to do anything and heads off to school. The sweet and simple message makes the story better suited for universal self-help collections than the religion shelf. Although the book is intended to be shared aloud, some bumpy rhymes make it difficult. The best features of the book are the illustrations. The soft, pretty drawings are set predominantly in light pink and blue and fill the whole page spreads, with the stars, hearts, and flowers dotting throughout the scenes. Slightly wavy lines drawn for the background settings and characters add to a whimsical feeling. Layla (also the name of the author/illustrator's child) and her mother clearly display shifting emotions on their faces and young readers can bypass the wording to figure out what is happening in the story. VERDICT An evergreen topic of one family's coping, with sweet illustrations, this is an additional purchase.--Elissa Cooper

A mother teaches her daughter a special recipe to help feed her faith. Layla, a young, brown-skinned girl, is ready yet nervous for her first day of school. Seeking a confidence boost, she goes in search of her mom--"'Cause mamas can help / when you need love and calm"--and finds her in the kitchen. "Hey, sweetie, sit here / Let's make a quick meal / that's full of good things / to help how you feel," her mother suggests and fishes out a recipe book. The recipe for the meal includes many ingredients, but none of them are tangible. Instead, courage, "a spoonful of faith," "dashes of kindness," "handfuls of hope," "pinches of prayers," and warm hugs go into the mixing bowl. To concretize these virtues, the artwork uses a visual motif of hearts and flowers. Once the meal is ready, Layla hesitantly looks into the bowl, unsure what to make of the imaginary repast, but a word of wisdom from Mama helps her realize the true source of her emotional sustenance and strength. The illustrations, created using digital watercolor, pencil, and gouache brushes in Procreate, are soothing, with soft pastel colors. While God is mentioned, there are no references to any specific religion. An uplifting, rhyming picture book offering food for the soul. (author's note) (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.