Pat-a-Cake

by Mary Brigid Barrett, Leuyen Pham (Illustrator)

Overview

LeUyen Pham’s adorable, vibrant illustrations bring Mary Brigid Barrett’s singsong text to life in a board book for the very young.

If you can pat a cake, why not a peach or a cold and bumpy pickle? How about a fuzzy caterpillar crawling on your knee? A well-known rhyme expands into a tactile exploration of a toddler’s world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763643584
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	01/07/2014
Pages:	16
Product dimensions:	6.60(w) x 7.00(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD210L (what's this?)
Age Range:	2 - 5 Years

About the Author

Mary Brigid Barrett has written and illustrated many award-winning picture and board books, including Shoebox Sam. In addition, she served as creative editor for Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out and The Exquisite Corpse Adventure, published by Candlewick Press. She is the president and executive director of The National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance. She lives in Franklin, Massachusetts.

LeUyen Pham is the author-illustrator of Big Sister, Little Sister and has illustrated many other books for children, including the New York Times bestseller Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio. With Candlewick Press, she illustrated God’s Dream by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Douglas Carlton Abrams and Aunt Mary’s Rose by Douglas Wood. She lives in San Francisco.

Editorial Reviews

Barrett’s verse scans with a pleasingly jaunty rhythm. Pham’s stylized cartoons are done in a muted color palette; eye-catching patterns on the clothing and in the backgrounds infuse the scenes with a lively energy. The last two double-page spreads skillfully bring the energy down as a pair of brown-skinned siblings pat Mommy, Dad and each other before patting a pillow and teddy at bedtime. ... [Y]oungsters will recognize the exuberance represented here as their own.
—Kirkus Reviews

Each scenario is illustrated with Pham’s exuberant artwork, featuring bright colors and happy children. ... Barrett has stayed faithful to the rhythm of the original rhymes, making [Pat-a-Cake] easy to read and enjoyable to hear.
—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

04/01/2014
PreS—These board books expand well-known nursery rhymes into common toddler experiences. All Fall Down shows the many things that can fall, from a tower of blocks to a mound of mashed potatoes. In Pat-a-Cake, toddlers start with a cake and move on to pat a kiwi, an acorn, a caterpillar, and more. Each scenario is illustrated with Pham's exuberant artwork, featuring bright colors and happy children. Both books end with a picture of a family enjoying being together. While the words are different, Barrett has stayed faithful to the rhythm of the original rhymes, making both titles easy to read and enjoyable to hear. Solid choices for most collections.—Laura Stanfield, Campbell County Public Library, Ft. Thomas, KY

School Library Journal

2014-01-15
Moving on from baked goods, a diverse group of toddlers pat everything from an acorn to a puddle.“Pat a kiwi. Pat a peach. / Pat a plump tomato. // Pat a pickle, / cold and bumpy. / Pat a brown potato.” Barrett’s verse scans with a pleasingly jaunty rhythm. Pham’s stylized cartoons are done in a muted color palette; eye-catching patterns on the clothing and in the backgroundsinfuse the scenes with a lively energy. The last two double-page spreads skillfully bring the energy down as a pair of brown-skinned siblings pat Mommy, Dad and each other before patting a pillow and teddy at bedtime. The sister book, All Fall Down, has a longer, rhymedtext but the same buoyant energy and equally diverse cast. On the first double-page spread, a Caucasian boy and a girl of African descent stack a tower of alphabet blocks and joyfully topple them over on the verso as the text exclaims, “ALL FALL DOWN!” This pattern is repeated as gravity gets the better of a trio of tykes constructing a dam in a stream, a highchair-confined girl building a mountain of mashed potatoes, and an Asian family enjoying a game of “Ring-Around-the-Rosie.” In both books, some parents may cringe at little ones climbing a tree and cavorting around a stream unsupervised and patting a caterpillar (some varieties are harmful to the touch) in the lighthearted scenes, but youngsters will recognize the exuberance represented here as their own.With its companion title, a playful romp in a please-touch-and-explore world. (Board book.18 mos.-3)

Kirkus Reviews