Spoon

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. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

March 30, 2009
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.