Valentine Friends

Text: April Jones Prince

Illustrations: Elizabeth Schlossberg

Year: 2007

Publisher: Scholastic Inc., USA

Age: 3- 5 years

No. of Pages: 24

Book Type: Picture Book

ISBN:  978 0 43979 999 7

It’s Valentine’s Day. All the little friends get together to make cards and bake yummy valentines to share with one another.  

They learn the meaning of love through their giving and sharing. 

This is an easy-to-read book for beginners with short two-word descriptions for each page as you can see from the excerpt below.

Excerpt

Dog draws.

Cat cuts.

Pig pastes.

Easy as Pie

Text: Cari Best

Illustrations: Melissa Sweet

Year: 2010

Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux, New York 

Age: 3 and above

No. of Pages: 36

ISBN:  978 0 37439 929 0

This book reminded me a lot of Harvey the Baker in that it introduces children to the delights of baking.

The story takes us through the baking (and cleaning!) routine as Jacob bakes a pie for his parents’ anniversary. He’s also a fan of Chef Monty, who hosts Jacob’s favorite television show.

Chef Monty’s culinary wisdom peeks through the pages every step of the baking process. Sample this: A happy baker bakes a happy pie.

Naturally, who would contradict such delightful insights?

Excerpt

“This pie business is harder than I thought,” he worried out loud.

But only for a second, because Jacob remembered another one of Chef Monty’s rules: Don’t give up even when what you’re making doesn't look the way it’s supposed to.

Harvey the Baker

By Lars Klinting

Year: 1996

Publisher: Kingfisher Publications, London   

Age: 4 and above

No. of Pages: 40

ISBN: 978 0 75341 176 6

Kids tend to, naturally, chip in with baking at home. However, just in case, they haven’t yet, this book will provide the impetus. It makes baking look easy. Well, why not? Harvey uses an electric mixer!

It’s Harvey’s birthday and he has a visitor. He, then, realizes that there’s nothing to offer his friend. So, the two of them bake a birthday cake and finish just in time for a quiet dinner party with other friends.  The author wraps up the book with Harvey's cake recipe.

Excerpt

The oven has a glass window, so Harvey and Chip can watch their cake rise as it bakes. It’s almost as much fun as watching TV! Harvey sets the timer, so they will know when the cake is ready.