Matt Mew – illustratör

Young children cannot help but be amused by these dramatic characters made of parts and pieces of fruits and vegetables designed to help little ones explore feelings and emotions. Watch readers react to silly interjections, animated expressions, and quick rhymes that result from the character''s discoveries and responses to everyday experiences. Capture a young child''s interest with dramatic expressions, exaggerated voices, novel experiences, and an invitation to participate. It''s a healthy recipe for self-expression, encouraging young children to interact, look for cues, explore their feelings, and mimic faces.

Researchers at the University of Cambridge in England say that when we make eye contact with a baby, we synchronize our brainwaves to theirs. This synchronicity, in turn, promotes both learning and communication skills. Growth and development in the early years can be advanced significantly by engaging young children (birth through preschool) in creative physical and verbally playful interactions. It''s important to stimulate their senses every day. While modeling behavior, be sure to ask questions that motivate them to observe, examine, and reason.

-- Foundation/Domain: Social-Emotional Development

-- Available in English and Spanish

These unique fruit and vegetable characters can be introduced in a variety of ways:

Explore feelings & emotionsEstablish an emotional connection with a shared communicative experienceRecognize facial featuresReact to facial and verbal cuesMimic facial expressionsImitate verbal responsesIdentify fruits and vegetablesName colorsCount parts and piecesUse descriptive wordsExplore positions in spaceServe food in an appetizing way

Benefits:

Furthers socio-emotional development: self-expression, understanding displays of emotions, empathy, mimicking facial expressions, and interaction with the reader.Exposure to a variety of fruits and vegetables and their connection to a rainbow of colors.Encourages the creative presentation of food for dining.Provides an opportunity to explore positions in space: over, under, on top of, below, etc.Promotes the use of descriptive STEM language: wider, longer, taller, smaller, thinner, etc.Supports experimentation with age-appropriate kitchen tools: peeler, knife, zester, magnifying glass, hand juicer, ruler, etc.

Bulk Orders: This title is available in bulk directly from the publisher for early childhood and nutrition programs, conferences, non-profit initiatives, licensing, or grants that promote healthy eating, fruits and vegetables, gardening, farm-to-table, STEM initiatives, and anti-obesity. Contact the publisher directly for quotes, orders, and discounted pricing.