Thanks to lovely friends at Inhabit Media, I have the pleasure of reviewing the picture book Strawberry Sundaes by Sarabeth Holden and Emma Pedersen. Happy reading!
From author Sarabeth Holden and artist Emma Pedersen we have the delightful picture book Strawberry Sundaes. Readers are introduced to protagonist Sim, a young boy who is called away from a play date with his friend Benny to go strawberry picking with his little sister and parents. As Sim and his sister Sloane begin their strawberry search, he asks his Anaana about her own experiences as a child, when she would go berry picking in the Arctic. As Sim ponders and imagines the differences between his mom’s childhood experiences to his own, he also considers their deep similarities. Moreover, in all of Sim’s busy musings and happy taste-testing with Sloane, his mind also pictures how his favourite dinosaur- the famous herbivore the stegosaurus- might feel about trying and munching on strawberries! When we first meet Sim and Sloane, they are both wearing adorable stegosaurus hats- in shades of green and red to perfectly complement the lots of strawberries they will soon be visiting!
Holden and Pedersen so terrifically capture the essential feel of everything summer: the warm, sweet-smelling air, the freshness and juiciness of strawberries from the earth; the delicious, cool surprise of an ice cream sundae; and the happy-sleepiness of a busy day spent outside with loved ones. Pedersen’s illustrations are so utterly appealing (and genuinely mouthwatering!): vibrant spreads of greens and reds (all of the rich vegetation!), with added warmth of sunshine-colours. The story draws to a warmhearted conclusion with the promise of making their grandmother’s jam as well as palaugaaq (bannock) and visiting their Siaq (the short form of the Inuktitut word for grandma). Strawberry Sundaes is a feast for readers’ eyes, with a thoughtfully developed story and great protagonist voice in Sim. I will now have to go back and read Benny the Bananasaurus Rex by the same author and illustrator (and a Blue Spruce Winner)- readers get a quick glimpse of Sim’s friend Benny in the opening, and I would love to experience Benny’s story as well! Back matter includes: recipes for palaugaaq and strawberry jam as well as a pronunciation guide for select Inuktitut words.
I received a copy of this title courtesy of Inhabit Media in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and comments are my own.
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