Herbert Loves Sherbet
by Joanie Leopold
illustrated by Jim Steck
Date: 2016
Publisher: Slow Tag Press
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 28
Format: e-book
Source: NetGalley
Herbert Clark's favorite food is sherbet, in all its glorious, Technicolor flavors. When his grandmother comes to babysit for a week, Herb is pretty sure he can trick her into feeding him sherbet for every meal. Is Grandma on to Herbert's game? Will Herbert learn that having your wishes come true isn't always what you had hoped? Follow Herbert's sherbet odyssey in rhyme on every brightly illustrated page. For readers 4-7 years
(synopsis from Goodreads)
Is it "sherbet" or "sherbert"? I'm firmly in the former camp, so when I saw this book, I was somewhat glad to see that it had the more common (and, in my opinion, correct) spelling. However, in this case, I almost wish that the author had gone with "sherbert"... not least because she tries to rhyme it with the main character's name!
The plot of this is cute, but very similar to one of my childhood favourites, Mrs. Pig's Bulk Buy. Herbert loves sherbet, and he wants to eat it all the time. He thinks he's going to get his chance when his grandmother babysits him. Sure enough, grandma gives in and lets Herbert eat as much sherbet as he wants. But... then she starts feeding him nothing but sherbet. The kid eventually gets tired of it and learns a valuable lesson about moderation and the nature of treats.
The pictures are bright and colourful, but nothing really special. The rhymes are okay, too, although the meter made me stumble a few times. I think what's still tripping me up is the supposed rhyming of Herbert and sherbet. Please, please tell me that the author isn't assuming everyone pronounces it "sherbert"! (I kind of wish the kid had been named something else. But what rhymes with "sherbet"? Flurbet? Snurbet? Gurbet? Looks like "orange" has company in the "nothing rhymes with me" department.)
Thank you to NetGalley and Slow Tag Press for providing a digital ARC.
Premise: 3/5
Meter: 3/5
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 3/5
Enjoyment: 3/5
Overall: 3 out of 5
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