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Library | Item Barcode | Call Number | Material Type | Item Category 1 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... | 35000000010600 | PZ8.3.B145 P43 2003 | Open Access Book | Creative Book | Searching... |
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Summary
Summary
How many times can three babies be chucked under the chin and told they look "just like three peas in a pod"? Even the most patient babies have their limits, and Sweet Pea, Snap Pea, and Snow Pea are no exception. In a moment of rebellion, they burst from their pod into the big wide garden world where each one has a rollicking adventure completely unlike the others'.
The author and illustrator of the well-received TUMBLE ME TUMBILY have created a wondrous fantasyland - part garden, part nursery - overflowing with the beauty of young, growing things.
In her characteristic lilting and poetic style, Karen Baicker relates the challenges and the rewards of establishing one's own identity, while Sam Williams's appealing illustrations blend this artfully conceived world and the endearing creatures within to an irresistible degree.
Author Notes
Karen Baicker lives in Maplewood, New Jersey, with her husband and two young children, Lucy and Jake. Tumble Me Tumbily was her first children's book, and she is also the author of I Can Do It Too! and Pea Pod Babies . Besides writing for children, she is
Sam Williams began his career in London as a magazine and book designer. He has also been an art director and a publisher. He now illustrates books full time when he is not taking dares to climb mountains! He lives in England with his wife, three children,
Reviews 3
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-An absolute delight from start to finish, this playful rhyming story will charm its audience. The pea pod babies inhabit a magical garden realm, "Beyond the bluebells and the beans/hidden deep within the greens." Their mother is a frothy, leafy creature who affectionately tends to her children, as do many of their admiring vegetable neighbors. The babies tolerate Mama and her garden friends' cooing and fussing until these well-meaning neighbors make them matching hats. At this point, Sweet Pea, Snow Pea, and Snap Pea revolt against the scratchy clothing and escape the confines of their pod. Newfound liberty allows them to pursue their individual paths, establish their own identities, and, best of all, dispose of the dreaded gifts. The trio's adventures are depicted in parallel narratives until such time as Snap Pea requires rescuing from the briar patch. Mother gratefully welcomes her brood back to the nursery and notes the changes in their demeanor. Bouncing verse and winsome illustrations make this a winning purchase for most picture-book collections.-Rosalyn Pierini, San Luis Obispo City-County Library, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
The team that introduced the pea pod babies in a cameo appearance in Tumble Me Tumbily here casts the spotlight on the trio of adorable infants. Sweet Pea, Snap Pea and Snow Pea grow tired of hearing that they're "perfect peas in a pod!" (although that is an accurate description of their horticultural home). "Mama and all her garden friends/ cootchie-coo them to no end./ .../ But anyone can plainly see/ that they're as different as can be!" When the avocado, celery and tomato vines subject the three to the indignity of wearing goofy, oversize matching caps (their faces may be swallowed up by ruffles, but the recipients' feelings shine through in vinegary body language), the babies decide to assert their individuality and explore the world solo. Up to this point, the sunny playfulness of Williams's large-scale watercolors and the babies' undeniable adorableness buoy the story, and even the text hints at something more exciting to come. But the preciousness only multiplies when the spreads split into horizontal thirds to chronicle their separate adventures. The combination of the twee visual scale, and the storytelling's relentless cuteness ("Just look at that silly tot,/ Now Snow Pea's/ in the turnip pot./ What does he see?/ It's a furry brown bunny/ Hop along after him. Isn't he funny?") sink the book into the insipidness it had so successfully skirted. Ages 6 mos.-4 yrs. (Dec.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
PreS. Through some fluke of Mendelian genetics, three tiny, preternaturally darling humans are born to an enchanted pea plant. Perfect peas in the pod, coo residents of this magical garden. But the babies chafe at being regarded as a matched set when they are presented with identical hats: Not at all adorable! / Scratchy! Match-y / Horrible! they cry, then go their separate ways. Their respective adventures, which unfold simultaneously on several divided spreads, highlight the unique personality of each baby. Unfortunately, the inconsistent verse pattern makes the text challenging to read aloud, and Baicker's wordplay (Rolling into crimson clover / topple eevy-ivy-over ), which worked in her previous book Tumble Me Bumbily (2002), here seems like an example of the ooka-booka-pooka stuff that annoys the babies in the first place. Even so, Williams' inviting, wispy-lined artwork and the babies' cuteness in spite of themselves make this excellent for one-on-one sharing. Multiple siblings will especially appreciate the babies' plea for individual treatment. --Jennifer Mattson Copyright 2003 Booklist
