Oh, No, Monster Tomato by by Jim Helmore and Karen Wall
Egmont, 2009. ISBN 9781405247412.
It was the time for the Great Grislygust Grow-Off when the residents
tried to grow the biggest and best. This year, Marvin planned to
grow the tastiest tomatoes in town, much to the disgust of brother
and sister Boris and Prunella who mocked and bullied him. Motivated
and showing remarkable resilience, Marvin plans and plants and waits
and watches, while all around him the people of Grislygust seem to
be having great success. Marvin is bamboozled, until he tries
something very different. The results are quite magical and the
ground begins to grumble and shake until Marvin has more than he
bargained for.
This is a lovely story with bright, quirky illustrations,
lift-the-flaps and humour that will delight the younger age group.
Because the text is in handwriting interspersed with other fonts to
provide emphasis, I think it is more a read-aloud or read-along
rather than a read-alone. Throughout the story there are a number of
opportunities to entice the children to predict what might happen
next that will also keep them engaged. Miss 5, who adores tomatoes,
really enjoyed the story and we are going to try to grow our own
next spring - I do hope we don't have quite the dramatic results
that Marvin did.
Barbara Braxton