A Sundae with Everything on It

February 15, 2024
A quantum physicist takes her child on a ride through the universe, complete with an epic stop in the ice-cream-iverse. Mom has come up with her greatest invention: "a device for seeing through space and time INTO OTHER DIMENSIONS!" She gazes up at her control panel, showing her child the different universes, including one where everything is made of lava, one where everything is ice, and even one devoted to cream. The child is eager to visit the ice cream universe, so off they go! The young narrator points out that Mom's device is intended to allow users to see other universes, not visit them, but, as Mom responds, "What better way to see than in person?" The two blast off and zoom from universe to universe, grabbing bowls, visiting the spoon-iverse, and hitting up all of the toppings-iverses. The child wishes there were a world where all of these incredible things existed at once. Mom knows the perfect place and steers them home. The story is told in the first person by the child; readers will experience all the joy, wonder, and yumminess right alongside the protagonist. The illustrations are colorful and cluttered, a jumble of spoons, toppings, faces, and whimsy. Though at times the art is a bit busy, it suits this goofy, wildly entertaining space-themed story. Mom is brown-skinned and pink-haired, while the child has light-tan skin. A wonderfully silly, out-of-this-world adventure. (Picture book. 3-6)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

March 1, 2024
Grades K-2 When a boy asks his super-genius quantum physicist mom if they can get ice cream sundaes with everything on them, she offers to take him on her latest invention: a device that travels to other dimensions. A countdown is initiated when he accidentally launches them into the land of ice cream, by way of the bowl universe and spoon-iverse, zipping through toppings across the cosmos, such as a chocolate-sauce-iverse and sprinkle-verse. The end result is a sundae so heavenly that it's out of this world. From the creators of A Pizza with Everything on It (2021)--and featuring the same main character--comes an independently entertaining and equally appealing tale in which imaginative science meets taste buds. The plot is a delightful whirlwind of creative adventure that will inspire and ignite young readers. The artwork, a mixed-media digital collage of gouache and colored-pencil drawings in bubblegum pinks and sky blues and deep cosmic purples, is a fun and explosive way to explore the delicious dimensions in the book.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 18, 2024

PreS-Gr 2-Impatiently waiting for his quantum physicist mom (with dark tan skin and pink hair), to take him for ice cream, one lucky boy who has light beige skin and umber hair takes an interdimensional adventure to every ice cream-adjacent universe there is, and this journey includes all the toppings! Mother and son go all out, zooming with the ice-cream-iverse, the chocolate-sauce-iverse, the sprinkle-verse and everywhere in between, before streaking back to the one place that has everything: home. For readers, it's an enjoyable trip relayed with a bright beat and filled with groovy digital, gouache, and pencil illustrations showing a big-eyed, delighted kid and a serene mom. Their joy is palpable as they move through the universes, picking out the perfect spoon, sliding down caramel rivers, and meeting up with andromorphic pretzels while filling their bowls with treats and enjoying time together. VERDICT Perfect for STEM courses, this book introduces parallel universes in the most delicious way possible.-Melisa Bailey

Copyright 2024 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.