Today's read just happens to have a cover with my favorite color, and this caught my attention instantly. Add that it's themed around food, and it definitely struck me as having promise. I'm easily enticed.
After reading the blurb, I can't wait to meet this girl's family, since they supposedly act like a jungle-full of animals. It reminds me a bit of my aunts and uncles when I was a child. My uncles were very enthusiastic when it came to creating nonsense and teasing anyone they could. It was pretty over-the-top whenever they got together. Trust me, I'm understating things here. So, I'm curious to see if this girl's family is just as ridiculous or not.
Let's open it up and find out!
FAMILY FEAST
by Brooke Graham
Illustrated by Kristen Willis
EK Books
Picture Book
32 pages
ages 4 to 8
COMING SEPTEMBER 29th!!!
Tallula’s friend Mia is coming for dinner — but will her family mind their manners or behave like animals?
Tallula’s family is so embarrassing! They fight like screeching cats, they’re louder than a herd of elephants and they have worse table manners than wild hogs. Tallula would prefer a family like Mia’s — proper, polite and quiet. When Tallula finds out Mia is coming to Family Feast, when all Tallula’s relatives gather together, her tummy flip flops. So she devises a plan to help her family learn to behave — but will it work?
Celebrating diversity, acceptance, love and cultural differences, Family Feast is a humorous, multicultural story about the importance of family — and enjoying a good meal!
MY TIDBITS
Cats, elephants, wild hogs, and even a gorilla slide into family fun while bringing across a warming message.
Tallula's family is not the quiet and polite sort. Not at all. Whenever they are underway together, she wishes she could step far away...it's so embarrassing. They are loud, obnoxious, speak with their mouth fulls, and exhibit other bad habits. It's so much different than the family of her best friend. They are always proper and polite. So, when Tallula's mother invites her best friend to join them at the annual family feast, Tallula knows this is going to end with one less best friend for her. But she might be able to turn things around if she puts in the effort.
There's a very clear message about family love and acceptance as well as the problem of bending to perceived social norms. This aspect comes across with warmth and sympathy, and ends on a very good note. But it's the other side of this book, which makes it so much fun. Tallula's view of her family sinks in right after the first page. The illustrations mold the family members into the animals she sees them as, and they cause some light but obvious chaos. The artist pulls a clever trick, too, to keep it clear that this is the girl's perception. While the human version of the family is always in full color, their animal forms take on a blue, sketch-like style. It acts as a constant reminder that they may not be as bad as Tallula believes them to be.
Humor coats every page to keep this interesting, and it creates a lovely read aloud which will bring a smile to listeners' faces. The text fits the age group nicely and rolls along smoothly to keep the direction clear while the illustrations bring everything to life. It's an enjoyable read on many fronts.
And here they are...
Brooke Graham is a children’s author, primary school teacher and mother. She enjoys writing stories that tug on the heart strings and help children cope with life’s ups and downs. In her spare time Brooke likes to bake, spend time with family and friends, and go for long walks with her dog, a Hungarian Vizsla named Naava.
Kristen Willis is a picture book illustrator and graphic designer who holds a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Hons). With a childhood fuelled by biscotti and sugar cane, Kristen uses illustration to eternalize family memories and stories. Traditionally trained as a fine artist and graphic designer, she flexes her creative muscles in illustrating children’s picture books, blending pigments and pixels.
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