Hap-Pea All Year!

Having conquered the alphabet (LMNO Peas, 2010), numbers (1-2-3 Peas, 2012), and colors (Little Green Peas: A Big Book of Colors, 2014), Baker's goofy spherical seeds return to revel in the seasons and holidays in this book of months."Hap-pea January! Let's get going. / Grab your mittens--hooray, it's snowing!" With this jubilant declaration, Baker's green veggies make merry in a snowy landscape, skiing with abandon, tobogganing by fours, and casting snowballs at one another. In the middle of this jamboree, a giant "January"--its letters colored in cool blues and purples--dominates the double-page spread. One conspicuous pea holding a "1" stands amid all the action. This particular legume acts as a guide of sorts, counting out the months as its round comrades partake in every seasonal change and holiday celebration. Each double-page spread hosts a month, from January to December, with bright and colorful digital artwork. Naturally, the big festive days make an appearance: Valentine's Day in February, Halloween in October. Baker also includes the end and beginning of the school year (June and September, respectively), casting summer as a joyous paradise. The rhyming text is relaxed and sparse, conjuring up a lighthearted tone that matches the peas' humorous antics. (A shoutout to LMNO Peas in June elicits a hearty chuckle.) An infectious, pea-sized romp. (Picture book. 2-8) COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 1, 2016

PreS-Gr 1-Baker's busy legumes are back and celebrating the months of the year in this bright and cheerful concept book. The peas introduce each month with rhyming metric and mention one special thing that normally occurs during that particular month. "Hap-pea July! Chase the fireflies./Roll out a sleeping bag, watch the sparkling skies." Halloween and Thanksgiving are both alluded to here, but the images in these spreads could also be interpreted as other celebrations, such as harvest festivals. February specifically addresses Valentine's Day, however, and March calls out St. Patrick's Day. Children will enjoy spending time looking at all of the small digitally illustrated peas and their adventures in each specific month. VERDICT With the traditional, spacious two-page format and minimal text, this volume should be a crowd-pleaser for storytimes as well as one-on-one reading. A general purchase for most libraries.-Brooke Newberry, La Crosse Public Library, WI

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2016
Preschool-K With simple, upbeat rhyming text and playful, vibrant illustrations, the entertaining little pea characters of Baker's popular series here cheerfully introduce the months of the year. Each spread features the month's name, in oversize lettering, as numerous, peppy, diversely accessorized peas clamber all over the letters. For each page spread, the peas get up to timely antics and activitiescarrying valentines in February, umbrellas in April, and school bags in September, and welcoming friends and family with pie in November. After December, the months are creatively brought together to start another hap-pea . . . hap-pea . . . year. Most seasons and holidays aren't formally identified, but the text, visuals, and color palette incorporate familiar traits: a brightly hued sunny sky in June is the backdrop for the transition from classroom scene to outdoor playtime, while earthy, autumnal tones depict pumpkin carving and jumping in leaves in October. Though the whimsical, scrutiny-inviting scenes make this better for one-on-one or small-group reading, this provides a playful, engaging approach to the topic, while also cleverly conveying various seasonal elements and the calendar's cyclical nature.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)