Publishers Weekly
Young Spoon lives a fairly happy life with a large extended family (including a ladle and a very fancy Aunt Silver), but he can't help being a bit jealous of some of his friends. Knife, for example, "is so lucky! He gets to cut, he gets to spread." Not to mention Chopsticks: "Everyone thinks they're really cool and exotic! No one thinks I'm cool or exotic." Spoon's mother doesn't try to change his mind, but reacts neutrally. Outside conversations let readers know that Spoon is being envied right back: "Spoon is so lucky!" sigh the Chopsticks. "We could never function apart." At bedtime, Spoon's mom offers encouragement ("Your friends will never know the joy of diving headfirst into a bowl of ice cream") then invites him into the big bed-to spoon, of course. The talented Magoon (Mystery Ride!) gives the utensils plenty of personality, with wide eyes and expressive antlike appendages, and Rosenthal's (Little Pea) skillful storytelling moves along briskly. The humorous but earnest message about valuing one's own talents comes through loud and clear. Ages 2-6. (Apr.)
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School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 2
It seems that young Spoon is having feelings of inadequacy since he cannot do what other pieces of cutlery can do. He cannot slice like Knife, or pierce things like Fork, and he's certainly not exotic like Chopsticks. Apparently this is a drawer-wide problem because the knives, forks, and even chopsticks wish they could do what Spoon can do: bang, plunge into a bowl of ice cream, or clink against a bowl of cereal. Soothed by his mother with these thoughts, he "felt so alive!" So he hops over the drawer divider to snuggle with his parents. Although this is a nice try at creativity, the story asks too much from its readers for too little payoff. There are many wonderful stories about overcoming feelings of jealousy and reinforcing self-esteem. This is not one of them.-Jane Marino, Great Neck Library, New York
Kirkus Reviews
This witty tale evokes a strong sense of family with an underlying message of self-acceptance. Young Spoon is one of a large clan that ranges from measuring spoons to ladles, from refined Aunt Silver to elaborate commemorative spoons to a spork who stands uncertainly to one side. Spoon, with his head on a sugar-packet pillow, enjoys a bedtime story "about his adventurous great-grandmother, who fell in love with a dish and ran off to a distant land." Feeling "blue" (he's perched on a bowl of blueberries), he suffers an identity crisis. Perhaps he'd rather be Knife, who gets to cut and spread, or Fork, who gets to twirl spaghetti, or the "cool and exotic" Chopsticks? But the others envy Spoon as well, for the special things that only a spoon can do, such as measure and relax in a hot cup of tea. Rosenthal takes the daffy concept and runs with it, gracefully folding her lesson into the whimsy. Magoon's expressive line drawings reveal the feelings of the various utensils with wonderful humor and pleasingly muted colors. Hurrah for Spoon! (Picture book. 3-8)
From the Publisher
Spoon is a spoon who is feeling down because his life is not as exciting as those of his friends Knife, Fork, and Chopsticks. He covets their thrilling jobs and unique styles ("And Chopsticks! They are so lucky! Everyone thinks they're really cool and exotic."). As it turns out, the other culinary implements think Spoon is the one who has it made-who else gets to bang on pots, dive into a bowl of ice cream, or relax in hot cup of tea? Invigorated by these reassurances, Spoon can't sleep and so hops into bed with his parents and, you guessed it, spoons. The details included in Magoon's artwork are laugh-out-loud funny: in the Spoon family photo, black-sheep Spork can be seen looking woeful off to the side; there is a cute gag about a dish who ran away with a spoon; and the depiction of the Chopsticks as a couple of deadly serious ballroom dancers prancing around a plate of sushi is indelible. Rosenthal's creation is adorable and funny and will be embraced by both children and parents.—Booklist
Young Spoon lives a fairly happy life with a large extended family (including a ladle and a very fancy Aunt Silver), but he can't help being a bit jealous of some of his friends. Knife, for example, "is so lucky! He gets to cut, he gets to spread." Not to mention Chopsticks: "Everyone thinks they're really cool and exotic! No one thinks I'm cool or exotic." Spoon's mother doesn't try to change his mind, but reacts neutrally. Outside conversations let readers know that Spoon is being envied right back: "Spoon is so lucky!" sigh the Chopsticks. "We could never function apart." At bedtime, Spoon's mom offers encouragement ("Your friends will never know the joy of diving headfirst into a bowl of ice cream") then invites him into the big bed-to spoon, of course. The talented Magoon (Mystery Ride!) gives the utensils plenty of personality, with wide eyes and expressive antlike appendages, and Rosenthal's (Little Pea) skillful storytelling moves along briskly. The humorous but earnest message about valuing one's own talents comes through loud and clear.—PW
This witty tale evokes a strong sense of family with an underlying message of self-acceptance. Young Spoon is one of a large clan that ranges from measuring spoons to ladles, from refined Aunt Silver to elaborate commemorative spoons to a spork who stands uncertainly to one side. Spoon, with his head on a sugar-packet pillow, enjoys a bedtime story "about his adventurous great-grandmother, who fell in love with a dish and ran off to a distant land." Feeling "blue" (he's perched on a bowl of blueberries), he suffers an identity crisis. Perhaps he'd rather be Knife, who gets to cut and spread, or Fork, who gets to twirl spaghetti, or the "cool and exotic" Chopsticks? But the others envy Spoon as well, for the special things that only a spoon can do, such as measure and relax in a hot cup of tea. Rosenthal takes the daffy concept and runs with it, gracefully folding her lesson into the whimsy. Magoon's expressive line drawings reveal the feelings of the various utensils with wonderful humor and pleasingly muted colors. Hurrah for Spoon!—Kirkus
NOVEMBER 2010 - AudioFile
Spoon—who is an actual spoon—is worried that the other utensils—Fork, Knife, and Chopsticks—lead much more exciting lives than he does. While author Amy Krouse Rosenthal reads with a measured pace and convincing kid voices, her narration doesn't quite match the cheeky cleverness of her text and Scott Magoon's illustrations. (Spoon sleeps on sugar packet pillows in a compartment in the cutlery drawer, natch.) The silly song at the end of the recording ("Oh Spoon, we’ll have a picnic in June, ice cream in the afternoon, thanks to Uncle Scoop-oop-ee-do"), performed by Jack Sundrud and Rusty Young, is much more in keeping with the playful mood of this charming bedtime story. J.M.D. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine
