Hap-Pea All Year
(Peas)

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 2016 Kirkus Reviews, LLC Used with permission.

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