I WILL NEVER, NOT EVER, EAT A TOMATO

Poster child for Picky Eaters of the World, Lola declares that she won’t touch carrots, peas, potatoes, fish sticks, or, most especially, tomatoes, until her brother Charlie sets her straight. Those aren’t carrots, they’re orange twiglets from Jupiter; not peas, but green drops that fell from the sky in Greenland; not mashed potatoes, but cloud fluff. Intrigued, Lola tries a nibble or two, and by the end she’s even asking for some round, red “moonsquirters.” Child (Clarice Bean, That’s Me!, 1999) lays clipped, hand-tinted photos of food, and drawn, cut-out cartoon children over backgrounds of fabric, patterned paper, and brightly colored monochrome in various combinations. The effect is cleverly postmodern but not busy, with plenty of open space and bite-sized blocks or wriggles of text. Funny bits of design will provoke a giggle: a smiling pea in the middle of a bowl of them or a Martian sharing the carrots. Would the subterfuge work in real life? Perhaps not, but even younger readers who find Lola’s stance perfectly reasonable will join her in this engagingly playful head game. (Picture book. 5-8)