Book Reviews for Soup Day
From School Library Journal
On a snow-speckled day, a mother and daughter approach the greenmarket as the child announces, “Today is soup day.” With economical text and vivid, multitextured collages whose upbeat charm belies their sophistication, the process of preparing the dish unfolds. In one spread, Iwai cleverly offers lessons about numbers, colors, sizes, textures, and what various vegetables look like. “This is what we put in our basket: One bunch of crispy green celery. Two shiny yellow onions….Six big white mushrooms. Ooops! We almost forgot the parsley.” Back at home, mother and daughter cut up and cook the vegetables, and, while the soup simmers, read together, build a city out of blocks, hide from a monster, and have a tea party. Then they add seasoning and the girl’s choice of pasta. While the alphabet noodles cook, it’s cleanup time. Daddy’s home, and the family eats soup together. The recipe is included. A perfect meal and a perfect book.–Susan Weitz, formerly at Spencer-Van Etten School District, Spencer, NY
Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
Iwai’s writing debut beautifully depicts the loving relationship between a mother and daughter as they go about a winter ritual--making soup. The two brave the snow to buy vegetables at the market, then it’s back home to chop them all up, Mommy’s hand helping her child’s to chop the softest of the vegetables. Step-by-step the two mix the ingredients together. While it cooks, they fill the time by playing. Mommy adds the spices, and the daughter gets to choose the pasta shape for the soup. The two clean up while it cooks. Finally, Daddy is home and it is time to eat the soup, as much a product of the love that went into it as the vegetables. While the author slips colors, numbers and shapes into the text, the real draws are the touching portrayal of a mom and her daughter and the gorgeous artwork. Acrylics and collage were combined digitally to make the illustrations, which are filled with colors and practically palpable textures. Pair this with Ehlert’s Growing Vegetable Soup. Ordinariness made extraordinary. (Picture book. 2-5)