An Island in the Soup - Hardcover

Levert, Mireille

3.46

13 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0888994036 ISBN 13: 9780888994035

Publisher: Groundwood Books, 2001

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Fish soup is not exactly appetizing to young Victor, so he sets out to spice things up by diving into his bowl. Pelted by peas and carrots, he struggles toward an island of overgrown celery stalks, where he battles a ferocious pepper dragon. Overcoming the onslaught of each dreaded ingredient, Victor finds that he’s hungrier than he thought, and discovers to his surprise that Mom’s fish soup is the best he’s ever tasted. Young children who go with the game will enjoy the playful combination of the wild and the mundane ...” Booklist

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

From School Library Journal:

PreS-Gr 1-A long, meandering tale about playing with and in your food. A small boy who goes by the handle "Victor of the Noodle, grand knight of the Order of the Macaroni" is called to supper by his patient and enabling mother. Victor imagines that his bowl of fish soup with its floating slice of bread is a swamp that he must cross in his spoon/boat if he wants to reach the safety of the island. Upon arrival, he discovers that the isle is not the haven he envisioned. Various adventures ensue, including fleeing a pepper dragon, dodging flying carrots and peas, and being captured by the Bad Fairy Zoop and taken to her castle. His mother comes to her son's rescue every time. After surviving all the imagined dangers, the boy finally realizes he is hungry and eats his cooled soup and elegant dessert. Boldly tinted watercolor illustrations are the highlight of this story that's too wordy for its intended audience. Wearing a cape and a colander for a hat and carrying a wooden sword, Victor acts out his fantasy life. The pictures foreshadow what adventures are in store for the child: a goldfish bowl with a miniature castle, a dragon emblem on his T-shirt, and carrots and peas floating in the bowl. A lot of melodrama over a bowl of soup.

Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WI

From Booklist:

Ages 2-4. Fantasy comes to the dinner table when brave preschooler Victor of the Noodle gets into his bowl of soup and crosses a bubbling swamp full of dangerous creatures. It rains carrots and peas. He must brave a forest of giant celery and escape a huge red-pepper dragon. He's captured by Bad Fairy Zoop, but Mom rides through the swamp to his rescue. The constant switching in the pictures from the soup to the dinner table and back again is confusing, but no one's being literal here. Young children who go with the game will enjoy the playful combination of the wild and the mundane in the bright, active illustrations. Victor's helmet is a steel colander, his boat is his spoon, and the big, bad, hairy fairy has painted toenails. Best of all, Mom joins in the game, and after the rescue, they settle down to delicious dessert beside a chocolate pool. Hazel Rochman
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