PreS-Gr 1 Isadora provides a sensory tour of early childhood, exploring common sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures. Each "chapter" consists of a number of simple declarative sentences matched with colorful ink and watercolor vignettes to capture what the children are experiencing or have learned not to try. For example, three vignettes on one page accompany the statements "I touch the sand. I make a castle. I touch the rain. I don't touch the cactus." Similarly, "I taste the pretzel. Salty! I taste the hot dog. Yum! I wait to taste the oatmeal. It is still hot!" The artist's trademark style is perfectly suited to depict the child-focused activities of these diverse, expressive, and engaging tots. As the title suggests, she uses a pickle to tie it all together for a sour, spicy, slippery, crunchy, green treat. VERDICT Preschoolers and their caregivers will devour this oversize title and come back for more. Luann Toth , School Library Journal

Isadora presents the five senses in a large-format picture book featuring several small pictures of children on every spacious double-page spread. Each of the book's five sections focuses on one of the senses, illustrated by a large, multicultural cast of toddler and preschool characters. For example, on a two-page spread in the "I SMELL" section, one hungry child smells a loaf of bread, while another smells burnt toast. A third smells pizza and says, "Yum!" A fourth, sniffing cheese, says, "Stinky!" The fifth says, "I don't smell. I have a cold. Aachooo!" Isadora's simple ink drawings, brightened with watercolors, have an unpretentious charm. Each character appears in a little scene, typically with a few props and, in one case, the suggestion of a background. The clean, white pages provide spacious settings for the characters, whose actions, reactions, and observations will intrigue young kids. Well designed for raising awareness of the senses, this is fine for reading aloud in a group setting and particularly effective one-on-one.

Isadora's book about the five senses is aimed perfectly at another sense--kids' sense of humor. Separate sections visit each sense in double-page spreads containing small vignettes of children exploring their world, indoors and out. Frequent statements about what the child doesn't sense add levity: "I see the turtle's shell but I don't see the turtle." Delicate illustrations nicely elicit a young child's point of view.