I think I enjoyed this book as much or even more than my granddaughter did. She loves fruits and vegetables, so she thought this was a pretty funny book. Turning the apricot into an Apricat, was cute and she insisted that it looked just like her cat, although I don't think Marmalade is that fat. We also used this book to reinforce colours, real animals and what is good to eat. I liked the end pages that included the foods in the book and what benefits they have for out bodies. I read it to her older brother when he got home from school and he thought it was pretty fat, he kept repeating the names of some of the new creatures and laughing. He obviously got more out of the back pages than his little sister did. This is a great book for families and schools. I can see this book being a fun way to teach nutrition in a primary health class.

My 2 year old absolutely loved this book and pretended to eat half of the foods in the book as we read along, haha :) I think this is a really inventive and fun way to go through the alphabet with little ones, and it definitely got my daughter's attention. I can see it being used as a springing off point for a food + alphabet craft as well. Lots of possibilities with this.

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.

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.

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.

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-

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 to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Walter Foster, Jr. for an early copy of Little Concepts: A is for Apricat by Mauro Gatti. This book is an alphabet book that is told through mash-ups of food and animals such as the titled Apricat made up of an apricot and a cat. The pictures and ideas are very creative and the animals are cute, but the words that go with each letter/food-animal need to be cuter and more sing-song to appeal to the age group that would appreciate an alphabet book. The dialog was more appropriate for an older child who would not read an alphabet book. I read this book with a newly turned three year old and he lost interest about halfway through. The book ends with food facts for each food that was used, but most were not very fun or exciting.

My recommendation is to look at this book for the cute creative critters, but ignore the writing.

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.

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 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.

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!

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!

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?

I'm a little bit confused as to who the audience for this book is supposed to be. A is for Apricat is a clever alphabet book that combines animals with foods. Are toddlers learning their ABCs really going to "get" the Kangaroot (kangaroo/turmeric root hybrid) or the Narwhanilla (narwhal/vanilla bean hybrid)? Some mashups, like the Apricat and Flamango, have the potential to reinforce the wrong spelling in kids who are just learning.

I like the inclusion at the back of the list of all the foods that are pictured. Still, I don't know if toddlers are going to care about antioxidants and the digestive health properties of various fruits and vegetables. Adults will likely find this book more entertaining than kids because of its pun-like nature. The problem is, to understand jokes like this, you need to understand the concepts they're derived from... and I'm not sure if the audience for an alphabet book has that understanding yet.

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.