Milk Goes to School

May 9, 2016
Border returns with a pun-filled school-day drama, featuring the photographic dioramas he used in Peanut Butter & Cupcake and Happy Birthday, Cupcake! Milk—a carton of strawberry milk with wire limbs, a pink bow, and a glittery backpack—is starting school, but she’s having trouble making friends, especially with Waffle, who repeatedly insists that she is “spoiled.” Border packs the story with culinary wordplay (classmate Peanut “wanted to be the first astro-nut on Mars”), which will induce chuckles or groans depending on readers’ temperaments, and there’s much to enjoy in the school setting he’s constructed, where bent spoons serve as chairs and Goldfish crackers swim in the aquarium. But the story has little momentum, moving from one loosely connected vignette to the next, resulting in a rushed reconciliation among Milk and her classmates. Ages 3–7.

June 1, 2016
Border continues his series of books about anthropomorphized food, this time focusing on Milk and her first day of school.It seems as though Milk has started off on the wrong bent-wire foot, so to speak. When Cupcake compliments Milk's new backpack, the beverage thanks her and says it was a gift from her dad, who says she's "la creme de la creme." That's all Waffle needs to hear in order to declare Milk to be spoiled. And so begins a back and forth between Milk and Waffle that quickly becomes tedious in its repetitiveness. Waffle does have a bit of a point about Milk's behavior, but that doesn't excuse his bullying, and it doesn't take long before Milk is slinging it right back at Waffle. A couple of accidents (they are foodstuff kindergarteners, after all) later, Milk is contrite, and her classmates, even Waffle, are forgiving. Border sprinkles in lots of visual puns; though they will go over the heads of the target audience, adult readers may chuckle (Apple sits at a desk, paper airplane in hand and Milton's Paradise Lost on the desktop). Several of his spreads are photographed from unusual perspectives, which may make it difficult for young readers to puzzle out the scenes.Border's shtick goes on far too long for readers to want seconds of Milk and Waffle. (Picture book. 4-8)

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August 1, 2016

PreS-Gr 2-Following the success of Peanut Butter and Cupcake and Happy Birthday, Cupcake!, Border returns with the latest entry in his cuisine-inspired series. Milk tries to make friends on the first day of school by sharing her best crayons with Carrot, offering to get Celery a new raisin, and asking Cupcake to sit next to her. Despite her efforts to be friendly, Milk is prone to boasting and snobbery and is soon labeled as "spoiled" by her classmate, Waffle, for her haughty attitude. This eventually leads to her being ostracized by the rest of her class. But when she accidentally slips on Banana's peel and temporarily becomes a puddle on the floor, her classmates recall the title character's kindness and Milk finally admits that she has been acting a bit spoiled. By the end of the book, Milk finds her way back into her carton and has some new friends, including Waffle. As with his previous works, Border manipulates and photographs three-dimensional objects to create his strange assortment of food-related characters, resulting in uniquely stylized and creative illustrations. Several clever food-themed gags are sprinkled throughout, providing plenty of giggles. Though this is a seemingly silly story, its themes of friendship, bullying, and fitting in still ring true. VERDICT A quirky read-aloud with offbeat humor and fun images that young readers will appreciate. A good choice to address the challenges of making new friends at school.-Laura J. Giunta, Garden City Public Library, NY

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