Little Concepts: A is for Apricat

Everyone, please gather around and allow me to introduce you to my new obsession. It’s fruit, vegetables and other healthy yummies! It’s animals! It’s an entire alphabet of whimsical food/animal combinations and this kid in the adult suit is absolutely delighted by it. I can’t choose a favourite because they’re all so imaginative and fun. That’s fun spelled:

* F for Flamango
* U for Unicorn
* N for Narwhanilla

I wish I could spell the entire alphabet to you because this book is just so smile-inducing! It’s times like this when I need to borrow someone’s child so I can see the look on their face as they figure out what’s made me so happy. Naturally they would then fall in love with the book too. Never fear, though; in the absence of a child I read this book to my mother instead. Because … that’s how I roll apparently? Needless to say, Mum loved it too and we’re both planning to reread it tomorrow.

Oh, and if you like your educational mixed in with your cute factor, you’ll get a little fix of that too with ‘Food Facts’, bite sized (sorry, I had to get cheesy) pieces of information about every morsel you encountered as you made your way through the alphabet.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group - Walter Foster, Jr. for granting my wish to read this book. I think I’m in need of a sequel that teaches me how to count.

This book is way too cute. Every page made me giggle and the extra food tidbits in the back were really great.

The animal/food mashups were really creative and I kept telling myself which one was my favorite and the second I got to a new page I had a new favorite.

I would love to read this to my little guy. He’d love it as much as me.

Really cute alphabet book that combines animals and fruits. It will introduce kids to a lot of different fruits and vegetables that they might not know.

My kids are grown, but, I for sure would have purchased this book for them whilst teaching them about food and nutrition. Teaching no your children about the wisest choices of food and why should start early. This book makes it so much fun.

Turning the apricot into an AproCAT, is fun. You can also teach them colours in this very well illustrated book.

At the back there are lists of the food mentioned and what benefits it has on our bodies.

For sure this book is aimed at “children on your knee’ age, but can always be used later for reference. Some of the wording may go over a youngsters head but a well informed child is a wise child, don’t you think?

Such a fun book for children and parents alike. I think as a parent myself, that other parents will enjoy reading this with their children. I love when food is used to create something else. Such a cute book!

I received an electronic ARC from Quarto Publishing Group through NetGalley.
Board Book
I love the creature names throughout this book. Gatti takes healthy foods and combines them with an animal to match each alphabet letter. He also includes information about each food at the end of the book.
Perfect book to read together with toddlers and preschoolers. The colors are vibrant and the critter expressions pop off the pages. They look friendly and make new foods seem fun. Brief sentences on each page offer fun facts about each mashed-up critter.

<i>A is for Apricat</i> by Mauro Gatti is one of the most fun and adorable children's books I've ever had the pleasure of coming across. I just adored every single second of reading this book. Each animal was presented in a thoroughly fun way, simultaneously introducing children to each different food item along the way. I can already imagine a bunch of little kids making Apricats and Peanguins out of their apricots and peas as they eat.

Granted, I'm not sure how many parents want to encourage children to play with their food. I'd be alright with it, though.

An even more amazing fact about this book is that the end of it has a bunch of nutritional facts that you can teach your child about the various fruits and vegetables mentioned throughout. As someone who is not incredibly well versed in nutrition even to this day, that key was something I found to be incredibly useful. I know I'd definitely refer to it were I reading this to a child.

I personally don't think it would be a huge issue for the age range I imagine this book is typically geared toward, but it's possible that the spelling mashups might affect a child's understanding for how to spell the names of these fruits and vegetables. With that said, though, I don't picture most of the kids who will be reading this book spelling words like apricot at that period of their life.

All in all, I'm rather fond of this book.

<i>I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

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Review link on blog to go live on 08/14/2019.

his was a cute book which takes fruits and veggies and turns them into animals - real fruit and veg, drawn-on, colorful animals. It teaches ABC's, healthy eating (everyone can use some fresh fruit and veggies in their diet!) and some fun since children will no doubt want to draw their own made-up animals after this. I know I would have done so! So this book not only helps your health, it helps the planet if we all eat less meat and more fruits and veggies.

I found the names (among which are Broccolion, Cowconut, Iguava, and Kangaroot) highly amusing and inventive and the artwork well-done indeed. The book is short with brief text and full page images in brilliant colors, and I commend it as a worthy and educational read for young children.

This delightful creative board book is a fun (and educational) way to expose wee ones to the letters of the alphabet. Combining photos of fresh fruits and vegetables with adorable illustrations of animals, Mauro Gatti has invented a whole new kind of critter!

Turn each page to a brand new letter of the alphabet featuring a sweet animal whose name begins with that letter and simple text to help kids learn that letter, the fractured animal's name, and the food. What a genius idea! The author has included a food facts page at the back to explain the health benefits of each highlighted food. The book promotes healthy eating and fresh out-of-the-produce-aisle ideas! I love the expressions on the cartoon-style animal faces with the reality of the fruit or vegetable presented creating one-of-a-kind critter mash-ups! Awesome!

I know that this book will be enjoyed by both young and old as it is very unique and very clever. Kids can learn the alphabet in Spanish and French also. I highly recommend this innovative book with its playful and fun language.

ABC books for toddlers often have a sameness to them; they teach but do not always engage. A is for Apricat changes that. This is an original, funny, whimsical alphabet book that combines foods and animals to make unique critters. For example, there is the Flamango (flamingo and mango) or the moushroom (mouse and mushroom) and many more...26 in all. At the end of the book there is a section on Food Facts that talks about the nutrition involved in the foods. I can't end without a shout out for the engaging and imaginative illustrations. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a book that makes the alphabet fun.

All opinions are my own.

My word. This book is fun and funny! I love it when authors come up with a combination of unexpected things all in one. Kids tend to love alphabet books and I am sure this one will be a favorite!

A is for Apricat is a whimsically funny animal/plant mash-up ABC book by Mauro Gatti. Due out 3rd Sept 2019 from Quarto on their Walter Foster Jr. imprint, it's 28 pages and will be available in ebook and boardbook formats.

Each of the 26 illustrations is accompanied by a one sentence funny description. They are varied and cute and in fact some of the plants will probably be unfamiliar to many (adult) readers. I had never heard of ximenia, for example. I'll be keeping my eye out for it to try at some point.

This would make a lovely read-along book or bedtime read for babies to the youngest readers. It would also make a nice library or classroom read along for the appropriate age groups. All 26 of the foods in the ABCs are also included in a fact sheet at the end of the book.

Altogether a delightful and fun ABC book. I really loved it. It probably should be noted that there are 2 subtle mentions of the gassy properties of some foods (broccoli and beans). I found it amusing, some readers may be less amused. But really, have you ever met a 5 year old who didn't think that was the absolute pinnacle of humor?

5 stars

I will defer to the 4 year old book reviewer in this house and she really loved this book!! I can see us going back to it time and time again.

This book is utterly adorable. I would recommend it for 2-5 year olds.

There are so many funny veggie/animal mash-ups. There was only one I had no idea about - but that's because I didn't recognise the turmeric root in the Kangaroot! Glad the Food Facts in the back of the book set me right.

The book might be confusing to young readers in the U.K./Australia, where we calls yams sweet potatoes, but might be a good conversation starter about the variety of words we use in the English language for the exact same veggies: aubergine/eggplant, courgette/zucchini, etc!

Thank you Netgalley for a review copy of this book.

Love this original idea for a children's book introducing fruit and vegetables to them that they may not have come across in a fun and innovative way. Love the colourful pictures - octofig and moushroom were my favourites. Would recommend this book to any parent or teacher wanting to get kids interesting in healthy eating.

A cute children's book with great illustrations to help teach young kids the ABCs in a fun way! If my children were a few years younger, I would definitely use this book with them.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine.

Mash ups with an animal and a fruit or vegetable for each letter. Kids will laugh at such things as a “Hippotato” and “Queen Bean.” One letter and character per page. Nice crisp and colorful illustrations. A funny way to teach children the alphabet.

I received an ARC from Quarto Publishing through NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book. I am voluntarily submitting this review.

I love the kitties so of course I wanted to check this out. After all, I have my own sweet apricat. The combinations are clever and the illustrations are fantastic. I even learned a new X word! A-