Giant parsnip soup

PreS-Gr 3--The Giant Carrot meets Stone Soup in this charming counting book about two boys who find a giant parsnip. First, they mull over the possibilities: could the parsnip be made into a car? A rocket? A slide? Finally, they settle on making giant parsnip soup, and proceed to gather the ingredients via wagon, wheelbarrow, sailboat, and hot air balloon, which are then all plunked into a giant pot of water via a pulley-rigged wood and rope contraption. As the soup cooks, the multiethnic group of children grows until there are "9 hungry mouths," then "10 full bellies." Children will delight to see that a cat has been added to the mix, which also included a dog. Sosa's delightful collage and mixed-media illustrations are the perfect fit for the simple, readable text. A recipe for parsnip soup is included in the back matter. This is a great interactive book for young children, who can search for details in the pictures, count along with the text, and perhaps even learn a thing or two about how food is delivered to our kitchens. VERDICT Counting and cooking is a perfect combination for the preschool and kindergarten set. Recommended.--Sue Morgan

Veggie soup--giant yum! Two friends and their dog find a huge parsnip. It's truly enormous--so big that the imaginative pair, joined by another pal, envision themselves making a car, a slide, or a rocket out of it. Finally, the children decide to whip up "giant parsnip soup." But they'll need to gather ingredients, which they name in ascending numerical order--"one giant parsnip, two sacks of potatoes, three crates of carrots, four bags of beets, [and] five pails of water"--all ingeniously collected. Two kids sail a paper boat to retrieve the carrots, while the beets are transported via hot air balloon. What else do they require? "Six busy hands, seven more minutes" (while the soup cooks), and "eight red soup bowls." As the kids work, they're joined by an ever-expanding group of diverse friends. It all ends with "ten full bellies." Over the course of the story, readers will practice their counting skills (a large boldface numeral appears on the lower-left-hand corner of each spread), learn vegetable names and colors, and observe young people working toward a common goal in the spirit of cooperation. Zinging with energy, Sosa's multimedia collage illustrations are as joyfully chaotic as a child's drawing. Readers will practically smell the delicious aromas wafting from the big red pot. Two pièces de résistance at book's end: a counting chart and a recipe for parsnip soup. Savory fun for everyone. Kids will lap this right up.(Picture book. 3-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.