Identity Crisis in Aisle 4! Avocado Asks by Momoko Abe

AVOCADO WAS JUST FINE IN THE FRUIT AND VEGETABLE AISLE OF THE SUPERMARKET... UNTIL ONE DAY A SMALL CUSTOMER POINTED AND ASKED...

"IS AN AVOCADO A FRUIT OR A VEGETABLE?"

Suddenly Avocado is in the middle of an identity crisis. He consults the motley mix in the veggie display. He's not leafy like the cabbages, crunchy like a carrot, and none of them have sizable seed right in their middles. He queries the fruits. He's not juicy or sweet, and there's still that pit problem.

THERE MUST BE SOMEWHERE I CAN FEEL AT HOME!

Does anyone have these problems in the meat section? Fish or Fowl?

Nope. He's shaped like an egg, but he's clearly NOT one. He's not cheesy, or spicy. Avocado feels his insides melting into... something like...

GUACAMOLE!

Then he's accosted by a round and rosy, clearly plant-based guy.

He's a TOMATO. He's a fruit but rarely eaten out of hand. He spends most of his time hanging around with the vegetables. He's equally good in cold or piping hot dishes, and he's indispensable in pasta and pizza, appearing in many a soup and salad! He's very versatile! And Tomato and Avocado have a lot in common, often collaborating in their joint concoction--guacamole! They make ordinary fruits and vegetables...

GREEN WITH ENVY!

Momoko Abe's Avocado Asks: What Am I? (Doubleday Books, 2020) is the story of a deliciously delightful identity crisis in the fresh produce section, with the quiet lesson is it's not where you come from but what you can offer, while imparting to young readers a bit of plant science. Author-illustrator Momoko Abe, assisted by her clever artwork, adds the simple message that it not what you are called but what you actually can do that matters. And in the playful spirit of her story, she offers a new botanical brain teaser for young readers: What are rhubarb, mushrooms, horseradish, or coconuts?

The Garden That Keeps On Giving! The Ugly Garden by Grace Lin

IN THE SPRING I HELPED MY MOTHER START OUR GARDEN. IT WAS HARD WORK.

WHEN WE STOPPED TO REST, I SAW THAT THE NEIGHBORS WERE STARTING THEIR GARDENS, TOO.

But the neighbors get their gardens dug faster because they use big shovels. Ours are small.

And when the neighbors' seeds sprout, green leaves begin to show right away. When ours came up, the green things look like grass blades!

Soon the neighbors' gardens are beginning to bloom--with big flowers of all kinds of bright colors. They smell so fragrant that the bees buzz all around them.

OUR GARDEN WAS ALL DARK AND UGLY. I SAW ONLY BLACK AND GREEN-PURPLE VINES AND WRINKLED LEAVES. OUR VEGETABLES WERE BUMPY.

SOME WERE JUST PLAIN ICKY!

It's very sad.

But one day we pick our vegetables, and Mom works hard, peeling,  chopping, and dropping a mixture of them into a really big pot of water on the stove.

And it's not long before a delicious aroma is drifting out of the kitchen, all the way into the neighbors' yards. The neighbors begin to follow their noses to the kitchen door, bringing bunches of beautiful flowers to trade for some  of the soup. They all sit down and have an ugly vegetable soup party!

IT WAS THE BEST DINNER EVER!

It takes all kinds to make a world and all kinds of gardens to make people happy, in the award-winning Grace Lin's spring tale of two kinds of gardens, The Ugly Vegetables (Charlesbridge Books). Author-illustrator Lin's cheery story of garden envy is resolved in appreciation for all that the good earth gives us, edible and beautiful. Grace Lin is also the author of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon.