Pinch and Dash Make Soup (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Pinch and Dash Make Soup Jeannette Hulick Daley, Michael J. . Pinch and Dash Make Soup; illus. by Thomas F. Yezerski. Charlesbridge, 2012. 48p. Trade ed. ISBN 978-1-58089-346-6 $12.95 Paper ed, ISBN 978-1-58089-347-3 $5.95 E-book ed. ISBN 978-1-60734-081-2 $9.99 R Gr. 1-2. Pinch (an unidentified, vaguely gopher-ish critter) is hungry, and his fridge contains only a potato, spinach, and cheese. Too lazy to walk all the way to the Chat and Chew Café, he instead makes his way to friend Dash's house: "Dash was always cooking something. His kitchen would be warm. His kitchen would be full of good smells." He prudently brings along some hot sauce and pepper, however, knowing that Dash doesn't share Pinch's love for spicy heat. Dash (another unidentified animal) is indeed cooking, but his soup is pretty thin, so Pinch offers his potato, and then, one by one, the rest of his stores. Both Pinch and Dash in turn secretly slip extra heat into the dish, and the resulting soup is so spicy as to be ruined, so the two end up amiably heading to the Chat and Chew after all. Beginning readers who need a lot of flash and action will not find it here, but those youngsters who appreciate a quieter approach will find this enjoyable. Daley's effective use of repeated words and phrases, simple vocabulary, and grouping of events into four short chapters make this very accessible to novices, while the gentle situational humor will also help facilitate readers' digestion of this easy reader. Yezerski's line-and-watercolor illustrations are loosely low-key as well, with muted shades of golds, browns, blues, and greens punctuated with slightly scratchy thin black outlines. For instructional use, or for kids who like their entertainment on the mild side, this is a solid little title. Copyright © 2012 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois