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Beaver the Baker.
Lars Klinting.
Preschool - grade 2 / Ages 4 - 7. *** /4
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excerpt:
Who's that knocking on Beaver's window? It's Frippy! He has come to wish Beaver a happy birthday. Beaver is very glad to see him. But what can he offer his friend? Frippy is always so hungry. We'll make a cake!
And so Beaver tosses his friend Frippy an apron and off they
go! Here's another "How-to book" by Lars Klinting, translated from
Swedish, and following in the tradition of Beaver the Carpenter and
Beaver the Tailor. Beaver and Frippy search out Grandma's notebook
full of recipes, collect up all the necessary ingredients and
cooking utensils (a very important step!) and make a cake. They
also make a bit of a mess which, of course, they clean up quickly.
Klinting makes sure to warn children about the importance of being
careful around the hot oven and cake pan. Just as Beaver and
Frippy are sitting down to eat the cake, along come Beaver's
friends with a gift - a new mixing bowl to replace his old cracked
one. At the end of the story, Klinting includes the recipe for
"Beaver's cake," in both metric and imperial measurements.
The great delight of this book is in Klinting's often humorous illustrations: Frippy perched up on a counter licking cake batter out of the bowl; Beaver and Frippy watching the cake through the oven window ("'Just like TV,'" says Frippy."); Beaver flipping the cake over onto a plate as Frippy looks on anxiously. Of course, the illustrations also serve to help children identify cooking utensils and ingredients which are presented on an uncrowded page. The only slightly confusing element for Canadian audiences might be that the illustration of vanilla extract shows it as a white powder while most of us use plain old brown liquid vanilla extract from a bottle. One really should copy out the recipe before trying it - it would be a shame to get butter on such a lovely book.
Recommended.
Kathleen Kellett-Betsos teaches French language and Quebec/French
Canadian civilisation and literature at Ryerson Polytechnic
University.
To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.
Copyright © 1997 the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.
Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364
TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THIS ISSUE - JUNE 6, 1997.
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