Monday, May 19, 2008

How Are You Peeling?

How Are You Peeling?
Foods with Moods

by Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers


What it's about:
This unique and colorful book teaches about emotions. The authors used fruits and vegetables to create sculptures showing a wide range of human feelings. The story line is essentially a list of everyday experiences (such as waiting for a late friend or meeting someone new) and the variety of emotions associated with them. The photographs really tell the story with their vibrant colors and the realistic expressions on the sculptures' faces.

Why we like it:
My son and I both find this book absolutely fascinating. It is amazing how you can look at the pictures and really believe that an orange can feel worried or a pepper can feel confused. My son is just beginning to identify feelings, and I think this book is helping him associate more words with his emotions. The expressions on the sculptures' faces are highly defined, so I think this book is a great way to help children learn about feelings. Some of the emotions are a bit advanced for my son (such as timid or bold), but most of them are perfectly appropriate for a 17-month-old (like happy, sad, and shy). This is a beautiful story for both children and adults, and I love reading it with my son.

Suggested Age Range:
My son started taking this book off my bookshelf when he was about 15 months old. I had discovered it in my early 20s and my husband bought it for me. When we first started reading it with my son, he was fascinated by the colorful pictures of the fruits and vegetables. When he was about 16 months old, he learned the word "happy" and started pointing out the happy faces. Now, at about 17 months, we have started talking about the other emotions. I imagine that it will take my son a long time to outgrow this story. It's possible that he will enjoy it for many, many more years. As I mentioned, I picked it out for the first time as an adult!

Additional Details:
Copyright 1999
Scholastic Press
ISBN 0-439-10431-9
$15.95

Stumble Upon Toolbar

No comments: