The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
	The Bulletin Dozen is a monthly theme-based booklist available as an online-only Bulletin feature. Since we're awfully fond of bakers here at the Bulletin, we thought we'd adopt their philosophy of generosity and throw in an extra one or two when we have them to offer--so don't expect an even dozen. Please feel free to copy, download, or link to these lists. We ask only that you cite the source. See the archive for lists from previous months.
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Fresh Veggies:  A Vegetable Dozen --selected by Jeannette Hulick, Reviewer Of course, vegetables are good for you, but they can also be immensely entertaining (witness the success of the “VeggieTales” shows).  Here are a dozen amusing and delicious offerings for kids of all ages, so break out the broccoli, pass around the peas, and pull out that Mr. Potato Head.  Even if your youngsters normally turn up their noses at, uh, turnips, try handing them one of these tasty titles and pointing the way to the sofa, where they can indulge in a little guilt-free “vegging out.”

• Alderson, Brian.  The Tale of the Turnip; illus. by Fritz Wegner.  Candlewick, 1999.  4-8 yrs
  Farmer grows huge turnip, farmer gives turnip to king and is rewarded with a cartload of gold, jealous squire takes king a fine horse and is rewarded with…the turnip.  (BCCB 11/99)
  
  
• Denise, Anika.  Pigs Love Potatoes; illus. by Christopher Denise.  Philomel, 2007.  3-6 yrs
  With a little help, Mama pig cooks up a mess of potatoes for her family (plus a few extra) in this cheery rhyming story; the illustrations of the little porkers are particularly delightful.  (BCCB 9/07)
  
  
• Ehlert, Lois.  Growing Vegetable Soup; written and illus. by Lois Ehlert.  Harcourt, 1987.  
  A child narrator describes the process of raising vegetables, from planting to tending to harvesting to soup-making.  Ehlert’s eye-popping use of color is sure to please and to inspire art-making as well as gardening.
  
  
• Florian, Douglas.  Vegetable Garden; written and illus. by Douglas Florian.  Harcourt, 1991.  4-6 yrs
  Simple rhyming text and Florian’s distinctive watercolor and ink artwork depict a family’s work in planting and tending their vegetable garden.
  
  
• McClements, George.  Night of the Veggie Monster; written and illus. by George McClements.  Bloomsbury, 2008.  5-8 yrs  
  Every Tuesday night it’s the same old thing—a serving of peas at dinnertime turns this boy narrator into “the veggie monster:” a person completely and hysterically revolted by the taste of vegetables.  (BCCB 1/08)
  
  
• Meltzer, Milton.  The Amazing Potato:  A Story in Which the Incas, Conquistadors, Marie Antoinette, Thomas Jefferson, Wars, Famines, Immigrants, and French Fries All Play a Part; illus. with photographs.  HarperCollins, 1992.  Gr. 4-6  
  Meltzer discusses the history and importance of the humble, but perhaps not so lowly, potato in this intriguing look at one of the world’s most popular foods.  (BCCB 8/92)
  
  
• Oller, Erika.  The Cabbage Soup Solution; written and illus. by Erika Oller.  Dutton, 2004.  5-8 yrs  
  Oh, those wascally wabbits!  Unbeknownst to gardener Elsie, they come out every night to chow down on her delicious cabbages—until her two clever cats set the greedy bunnies straight.  (BCCB 2/04)
  
  
• Paye, Won-Ldy.  The Talking Vegetables; by Won-Ldy Paye and Margaret H. Lippert;  illus. by Julie Paschkis.  Holt, 2006.  5-8 yrs
  In this traditional story from Liberia, lazy Spider refuses to help with the village’s garden.  When harvest time rolls around and Spider tries to help himself to the bounty, he’s in for a shock from the vegetables themselves.
  
  
• Robbins, Ken.  Pumpkins; written and illus. by Ken Robbins.  Porter/Roaring Brook, 2006.  3-7 yrs
  Robbins provides a little text (briefly explaining the life cycle and some uses of the pumpkin) and a whole lot of lushly colored pumpkin photographs, from plant, to leering jack-o-lantern, to rotting leftovers.   (BCCB 9/06)
  
  
• Shannon, George.  Rabbit’s Gift:  A Fable from China; illus. by Laura Dronzek.  Harcourt, 2007  2-4 yrs
  When Rabbit finds two turnips, he generously decides to share and passes his spare along to Donkey, who passes it along to Goat, who passes it along, etc., until it makes its way back to Rabbit again.  (BCCB 12/07)
  
  
• Speed, Toby.  Brave Potatoes; illus. by Barry Root.  Putnam, 2000.  6-9 yrs
   A band of renegade prize potatoes at the County Fair slip out of the Bud and Bean Arena after hours, enjoy one of the fair’s wild rides, and are kidnapped by a soup-making, knife-wielding chef (“But he hasn’t got potatoes.  No, hasn’t got potatoes.”); the courageous spuds, however, have other ideas, and together they lead their fellow produce prisoners to freedom.  (BCCB 6/00)
  
  
• Wells, Rosemary.  First Tomato; written and illus. by Rosemary Wells.  Dial, 1992.  3-6 yrs  
  Everyone has a bad day now and then; today is Claire’s (“by eleven in the morning, math had been going on for two hours”).  Luckily, a visit to the Bunny Planet provides Claire with “the day that should have been,” wherein her mother makes her delicious soup from the succulent first tomato of summer.  (BCCB 12/92)
  
  
  

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