JUNE 29, 1999

A follow-up to Tuesday (Caldecott, 1992): This time it's flocks of gigantic vegetables wafting through the air, landing all over the US—turnips larger than trees in the Rockies, plane-sized artichokes in Anchorage, limas in Levittown. At first it seems to be the result of young Holly Evans' experiment—she launched seedlings (by balloon) "to study the effects of extraterrestrial conditions on vegetable growth''—but species are landing that she never sent up. The answer to the mystery makes an amusing conclusion; meanwhile, Wiesner has a lot of fun with details—imagine climbing a giant stalk of broccoli or roping down buoyant bell peppers, to say nothing of marketing these elephantine comestibles—and even more fun with the surreal visual effects. One of the best is some hilariously puzzled, slightly jaded sheep and a couple of Native American farmers investigating the canoe-sized pea-pods that have landed in what might be Monument Valley. The brief, tongue-in-cheek text is a plus for storytime, but these witty, wonderfully imaginative pictures reward closer study, too. Hurray for Wiesner, and his grand sense of humor! (Picture book. 5+)