Reviews
Meet the Pops – Book 1
Candyland meets Barney & Friends in this debut picture book about a loving family living on a farm.
The Pops are much like any other family except that they grow wild-cherry lollipops in their orchard and have chickens that lay marshmallows on their farm. Barbieri takes the reader through Soda and Coco Pop’s first day at school, with the supportive presence of their parents, Lolly and Cherry. Despite the Candyland-esque theme, sweets don’t play a large role in the story. Through seven “text messages” interspersed in the book, young readers are invited to learn the meanings of words like “adopted,” “harvest,” and “unique,” which are connected to such positive commands as “Be considerate!” “Be happy!” and “Be smart!” These lessons about appropriate behavior deliver an important message. But they are not always directly linked to the story and at times feel forced and out of place. Likewise, the stock illustrations, though clean and colorful with a diverse human cast, are mostly plain and sparse in detail, failing to convey the fantastical nature of the farm. The book veers from depicting each scene word for word with split panels to leaving much of the scenery and action to the imagination. And though Soda is shaped like a bottle of soda and Cherry spreads rainbow jam on a slice of bread, the Pops’ world is almost too ordinary.
An enthusiastic but uneven tale, with a greater focus on good behavior than candy-cane forests.
Meet the Pops is a bright, smart picture book that engages children with important life lessons.
Meet the Pops by Belinda Barbieri is an amusing and colorful picture book about an adorable family, the Pops, and their children’s first day of school.
Coco Pop is the biological daughter of Cherry and Lolly Pop, and Soda Pop is their adopted son. The story follows both children through the ups and downs of their first day of school, teaching lessons about behavior and vocabulary in an entertaining and modern way.
The book begins by explaining the Pops’ family dynamic and demonstrating what adoption means. That Soda Pop is adopted does not mean, the narrative emphasizes, that his parents love him any less, or any differently, than their biological daughter. Each child’s school day is difficult; the way that their parents deal with their problems is constructive and mature.
From Soda Pop’s struggle to fit in and make friends to the devastating loss of Coco Pop’s favorite doll, the book’s conflicts are relatable to any child. They teach lessons on how to cope with negative feelings and impart applicable strategies for appropriate behavior.
Reviewed by Michelle Stanley for Readers’ Favorite
Meet the Pops is a children’s adventure story by Belinda Barbieri. Coco is excited that she and her brother, Soda, are starting school today. But Soda doesn’t feel that way because he’s adopted and believes he won’t make any friends. No one wanted to make friends with Soda and he sat alone at lunch. But something changed when the special treat from his mother glowed brightly, making the other students surround him. Lolly, the kids’ father, checks to see if the wild cherry lollipops are ready to be picked for Halloween. The Pops live on a unique farm with a sugar sweet river containing peppermint striped bass and gummy snakes. The hens lay marshmallows instead of eggs, and even the cows produce strawberry and chocolate milk.
The Pops’s farm is definitely one where children will love to spend their summers with so many treats and unusual wildlife surrounding them. Soda and Coco are cool kids and so are their parents, Lolly and Candy. Meet the Pops is book one in this children’s adventure series by Belinda Barbieri. It’s an entertaining story for children in the kindergarten to third grade ages. The author uses her creative writing skills to teach children about good behavior, learning to share and being friendly to others. There are text messages from Candy and Coco to young readers. I love the artwork and am pleased that I was fortunate to review book two in this series, Meet the Pops: Flag Day, Every Day. I recommend this lovely children’s novella.
Flag Day Everyday
Reviewed by Michelle Stanley for Readers’ Favorite
Meet the Pops: Flag Day Every Day is a children’s story by Belinda Barbieri. Lolly Pop lives on a special farm with Cherry, his wife, a son named Soda, and daughter, Coco. The Pops grow candy corn, lollipop trees, raise strawberry and chocolate milking cows, and cotton-candy sheep. One day while harvesting red, white, and blue lollipops for Flag Day, Soda decides to have a celebration for the flag’s birthday. The flag represents love, support of the country, and courage for those who made sacrifices. Their friends are invited, but Lolly notices that the harvested blue lollipops are missing. Who could have taken the sweets that were to be distributed on Flag Day? Will it ruin this special day?
What an adorable story for kids who are in kindergarten to 3rd grade. It’s wittily written with the main characters having fun names like Lolly and Coco Pops, and animals who produce flavoured milk and other sweet treats. Belinda Barbieri made the history of the American Flag Day really interesting for children, and the story itself is amusing. One of her story’s dedications is to children who have brave military parents. Some of the things I pay close attention to when reading are the illustrations and I think these are lovely. Meet the Pops: Flag Day Every Day is a delightful, educational children’s story by Belinda Barbieri. It also teaches children about taking pride in their country and respecting war veterans who have served to protect them. This book is recommended reading for both schools and homes.