HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 2000.
Hardcover edition, 32 pages, ISBN 0-06-021417-1.
Degen joyously depicts the exuberant quest of a boy and a bear for berries to make jam. All kinds of berries! Lots and lots of berries!
The simple silly rhymes grow in tempo and intensity as the story progresses from the idyllic countryside, canoeing over waterfalls, dancing with ponies, piling train cars with "billions of berries", greeting brass bands and skating elephants, and flying away in a raspberry balloon as berry rockets explode about them:
"Mountains and fountains
Rain down on me
Buried in berries
What a jam jamboree!"
The brightly-colored illustrations burst with berry hues, providing whimsical details for children to discover: tiny animals, biscuit and butter lily pads, marshmallow marsh plants, jelly roll flowers, and borders of berry-laden vines twining around it all.
Be sure to serve up some jam and bread, and an array of berries with a dollop of cream along with this celebration of color and sound inspired by Degen's family memories of berry-picking and jam-making.
ALA Booklist Editors' Choice
IRA/CBC Children's Choice
American Bookseller Pick of the Lists
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