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Reviewed by: Emily McFarlane, Elementary School Librarian Title: Are You a Cheeseburger?
Author: Monica Arnaldo Illustrator: Monica Arnaldo
Publisher: Katharine Tegen Books
Year: 2021 Good for Grades: PK-2 Genre/Type of Book: Animal Fiction
Content Warnings, or things that other School Librarians should be aware of: There is a seed butt on the back
Recommended for a school library: Yes Reason(s) for choosing the book: Monica Arnoldo is the author of "Mr. S," another cute picture book about a kindergarten class trying to figure out if their teacher is a sandwich. I liked that one a lot, and figured I'd also enjoy this one!
If you were tasked by the publisher with writing a short quote for the back cover of this book, what would it be:
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Review:
Grub is a raccoon, and he is all alone. While he is digging through the trash, he finds Seed who is hoping someone will plant him in the ground so he may grow. Grub, hoping that Seed will become a cheeseburger plant, does so, beginning the story of "Are You a Cheeseburger?" Over time, Grub takes care of Seed and they spend time talking together and telling each other stories. But, Seed worries. What if he's not a cheeseburger plant? What if he is something else? As the big day gets closer, Grub and Seed wonder what will happen. What will Seed be?
This is a seriously cute book. Grub is enormously expressive, and Seed adds a lot of color the the dark color palette. Together, they grow their friendship through disappointment, and come out with something different, but "very good and very special." I like how it shows Grub working through his disappointment and realizing that he has a flower and a friend, even though he doesn't have cheeseburgers. This short book packs a lot of emotional punch, and students have been asking me to read it whenever it is displayed. I think they find the cover (a large image of Grub staring quizzically at Seed with a speech bubble featuring the title,) silly and that draws them in.
This book is great for younger readers in the SEL context of reacting to not getting what we want/expect, since Grub and Seed spend the whole book hoping and expecting for Seed to grow into a cheeseburger plant. When he doesn't, there is sadness and disappointment, but they both discover that it is okay to have things go differently than expected. Grub accepts Seed for who he is, the friend he's spent time with instead of wishing he'd still come out as a cheeseburger plant. There is also a lot of lovely and subtle illustrative foreshadowing with cheeseburgers and flowers throughout the book (the end papers, and a scene where Grub and Seed both imagine the sunrise) that is helpful to point students to in making predictions and thinking through how the story is going to go. There is a definite style to Arnoldo's illustrations that carried over from Mr. S. It is charming but simple and expressive, and draws you in. There are cute little details scattered in some scenes, but others are very clean and allow you to focus on the characters. This book has been activating kids' background knowledge about plants and what they need, and introduced some ideas about how raccoons survive and adapt.
Number of party hats:
Find resources for Are You a Cheeseburger? at Teachingbooks.net
For more information about this book, see the Publisher's Website