From Amazon.co.uk
Fruits is an excellent, vibrantly illustrated book that was the winner of the Smarties Prize Bronze Award. It is cleverly written by Valerie Bloom and beautifully illustrated by David Axtell.
The rhyming words are full of rhythm:
Seven Mangoes! What a find! / The smaddy who left them really kind / One fe you an' six fe me / If you want more, climb the tree.
("Smaddy" means "somebody" and "fe" means "for".)
The writings contains lots of humour, too:
Three sweet-sop, well I jus' might give one o' them a nice big bite. / Cover up the bite, jus' so, sis, / Then no-one will ever notice.
(A sweet-sop is a very sweet fruit which has a rough outside and white inside with black stones.)
The book will appeal to a wide age-range of children, from those learning to count and young enough still to be read to, to those reading for themselves and able to use the glossary of unfamiliar words. "How much fruit can one girl eat in a day? You'd be amazed!" The poems offer a great opportunity to interest usually reluctant readers with the unusual subject matter. --Susan Naylor
--Ce texte provient de la
Paperback
édition.
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2. A mischievous counting poem that mimics the cadence and rhythm of the Jamaican language, Patwa, and introduces children to some familiar and exotic tropical fruits. An older sister stealthily sneaks fruits from obvious and hidden places throughout the house and around the yard. Little sister tags along hoping to enjoy a few tasty pieces. The phonetically spelled text is printed on the left-hand side of the book above an illustration of the featured fruit (half of a pawpaw, one guinep, two guava). The number of pieces of fruit is stated, but the numerical symbol is not presented. On the opposite page, Axtell's colorful, full-page paintings capture the warm, sun-splashed colors of the tropics. The expressionistic, oil-on-canvas-board art emphasizes the poem's tone. Big sister's expression of stomach pain at the end of the book will not surprise most readers. Understanding the dialect may be difficult for youngsters, but adults who can read it aloud can share a humorous, childlike poem with their audience.?Marie Wright, University Library, Indianapolis, IN
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--Ce texte provient d'une édition qui n'est plus publiée ou qui est non diponible.