This is the story of Spoon, who lives with his family (the splade is seemingly the outsider in this mob), listens to stories (his favourite is the one about his great-grandmother who ran off with a dish) and is generally happy.
At least, he was happy.
Lately, he's been feeling a bit down. His friends seem to have such great lives - Knife gets to cut and spread, Fork goes everywhere, and Chopsticks are considered fancy.
What Spoon doesn't know is that all his friends are talking about how lucky he is. And his mother reassures him. After all, his friends "will never know the joy of diving headfirst into a bowl of ice cream", they'll never be able to "relax in a hot cup of tea".
Now he's happy again - especially when he cuddles up with his mum and dad and dreams of ice cream.
This is a gorgeous story of learning to love yourself and your life, and of recognising - and appreciating - the differences between yourself and others around you. The strong, serious message, though, isn't too heavy, with those beautiful and expressive illustrations to balance it out.
A beautiful book that children can have a giggle at, and learn a little more about life along the way. I love it!
Title: Spoon
Author: Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Illustrator: Scott Magoon
Publisher: Disney for Scholastic, $19.99 RRP
Publication Date: September 2010
Format: Hardcover with dust jacket
ISBN: 9781423106852
For ages: 3+
Type: Picture book
This book is available online
