Monday, April 28, 2008
Night of the Veggie Monster by George McClements - review
Night of the Veggie Monster by George McClements
Heh heh heh.
I enjoyed this book. My four-year-old did not. Heh heh. Tough luck, kid - sometimes we parents deserve a book like this.
The kid in this book does not like to eat vegetables. He gets quite dramatic about it. His parents, who do not give in, observe his agony dispassionately.
As Dad sets a plate in front of the kid, he remarks, "Time for another fun-filled hour." The corner of my mouth curled.
The child puts a pea (one of three he is required to eat) into his mouth, and his expression changes as he clutches his hands to his mouth. Mom says, "And we're off." I smiled full-on. Contortions follow, until the child manages to swallow the offending item. As he recovers, Dad observes, "Quite a performance this evening." I laughed out loud.
Mr. Four said, "That's not funny!" Oh but it is, little man... it is.
Pencil and pastel on kraft paper lend this book a homey-but-hip aspect, while bits of photo collage bring the food to realistic life, which is kind of not a good thing. Food is yucky-looking sometimes.
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3 comments:
Thank you for the review.
I'm glad you liked the book.
I'll work on my food collages.
No! The other librarians and I talked about it, and we totally decided that the sort of slimy-looking chicken was on purpose.
Seriously - as adults, we barely see the things we eat every day, but kids are much more observant. The collages kind of replicate that by removing the food from its context, causing us to see it more clearly.
Or maybe I spend too much time empathizing with my kids.
Anyway, I really liked the book.
Empathizing with my kids was the cause of this story.
Please keep it up.
And yes, the food was on purpose. Yeah Librarians!
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