I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato (Charlie and Lola Series)

by Lauren Child, Lauren Child (Illustrator)

Overview

"Youngsters will never — not ever — pass up a second helping." — Publishers Weekly

Lola is a fussy eater. A very fussy eater. She won’t eat her carrots (until her brother Charlie reveals that they’re orange twiglets from Jupiter). She won’t eat her mashed potatoes (until Charlie explains that they’re cloud fluff from the pointiest peak of Mount Fuji). There are many things Lola won’t eat, including — and especially —tomatoes. Or will she? Two endearing siblings star in a witty story about the triumph of imagination over proclivity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763621803
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	09/15/2003
Series:	Charlie and Lola Series
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	10.56(w) x 9.22(h) x 0.14(d)
Lexile:	AD370L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Lauren Child is the author-illustrator of many picture books, including The New Small Person, Absolutely One Thing, and A Dog with Nice Ears, as well as the Charlie and Lola, Ruby Redfort, and Clarice Bean series. She has won numerous awards, including the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal. Lauren Child lives in London.

Editorial Reviews

Apt not to be satiated with one serving of this appetizing fare, youngsters will never—not ever—pass up a second helping.
—Publishers Weekly

The illustrations . . . are wildly patterned mixed-media collages, including vegetable photographs, and very funny indeed.
—New York Times Book Review, The

. . . [E]ven younger readers who find Lola's stance perfectly reasonable will join her in this engagingly playful head game.
—Kirkus Reviews

This funny, endearing look at how children's tastes can be based more on preconception than taste buds is sure to infuse levity into the daily dinner-table struggle. The author's dedication? 'With love from Lauren/who is keen on Marmite/but would rather not eat a raisin.'
—Amazon.com

The illustrations are done in a funky, mixed-media style with photographs, bits of wallpaper and fabric and sketchy drawings...regrettably, though my kids loved the book, they did not fall for Charlie's methods when I tried them.
—Miami Herald

The illustrations resemble a child's cut-and-paste collage and the text often dances across the pages in a variety of fonts. Even finicky youngsters will enjoy this tasty treat.
—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

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, handtinted photos of food, and drawn, cutout 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 bitesized 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. 58)

Kirkus Reviews