Tiny Spoon vs. Little Fork
by Constance Lombardo ; illus. by Dan & Jason
Preschool    Hippo Park/Astra    48 pp.       g
10/22     978-1-6626-4006-3     $18.99
e-book ed.  978-1-6626-4007-0    $11.99

Tiny Spoon has always helped Baby eat solid food until the morning a new utensil emerges from the next kitchen drawer. “The name’s Little Fork. The job? Feed the baby.” Baby may be ready “to BITE! And CHOMP!” but Tiny Spoon isn’t going down without a fight. Spoon and fork trade barbs (“I’d like to see you try and twirl spaghetti!” “I’d like to see what you would do with chicken soup!”) until Baby pads into the kitchen ready for breakfast. “The moment of truth has arrived.” Who will Baby choose? Baby grabs both utensils, lifts them up, and—very on-brand for toddlers—throws them on the floor. The two utensils call a truce and work together to get back up on the highchair tray, where they find they’re both useful in their own ways (oatmeal! scrambled eggs!). Easy-to-follow digital comic-style panel illustrations work with the all-dialogue text to amp up the humor, convey action and emotion, and help advance the plot. All the characters, from the kitchen clock to the cutlery to Baby and Baby’s chipper stuffed bunny, are engagingly expressive. Silly fun with a side helping of the benefits of cooperation.

From the November/December 2022 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.