Too Much of a Good Thing!: Too Many Pears!

Jackie French's Too Many Pears! portrays a bovine binge eater named Pamela who has an obsession with pears--fresh pears, stewed pears, pears on picnics, and especially pear pie, which she purloins from the windowsill as it cools.

When Grandpa builds a protective fence around the pear tree, Pamela burrows underground to get at them; when he ties her up, she uproots the tree she's tied to and drags it along to pursue pear munching. The family despairs of ever having a pear to share again.

Then young Amy hits on a plan of providing Pamela with a plentitude of pears, so many pears that even Pamela reaches her satiation point! Amy's bet pays off. Pamela reaches that point after crunching 600 pears, loses her happy smile, and all interest in pears--in perpetuity. Fortunately (or unfortunately for the family), there ARE all those lovely apples hanging on another tree!

Bruce Whatley's illustrations are perfect, with Pamela as a huge Holstein with a spot in the shape of a pear on her right flank and one spot in the shape of an apple on her left side. His illustrations of the character's eyes are particularly expressive and hilarious, and his watercolor double-page spreads, firmly grounded on the bottom of each page, are particularly effective against their white background. Pamela's single-minded pursuit of pears is perfectly rendered in her solid body and smiling face as she stolidly follows her bliss!