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
Sales rank:	124,364
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 daughter of two teachers. She went to two art schools, worked as an assistant to the artist Damien Hirst, and designed an offbeat line of lampshades before beginning a career in children’s books. Lauren lives in London, where she is a manic collector of Barbie doll mermaids and Star Wars memorabilia.

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

PW called this "a delectable variation on the picky-eater-themed tale. Youngsters will never-not ever-pass up a second helping." Also starring Charlie and Lola: I Am Too Absolutely Small for School (0-7636-2887-5); I Am Not Sleepy and I Will Not Go to Bed (0-7636-2970-7). Ages 4-8. (Oct.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Child (Clarice Bean, That's Me) here serves up a delectable variation on the picky-eater-themed tale. Charlie's parents give him the formidable task of feeding dinner to his fussy younger sister, Lola. The clever boy cajoles his sibling into eating foods that she insists "I do not eat." The girl lists such forbidden fruits as carrots, peas, potatoes, fish sticks and--the most dreaded--tomatoes, all of which her brother is dishing up for the meal. "These are not carrots. These are orange twiglets from Jupiter," maintains Charlie when Lola turns up her nose. He devises similarly tempting pseudonyms for other edibles: peas are rare "green drops" from Greenland that fall from the sky; mashed potatoes are cloud fluff from "the pointiest peak of Mount Fuji." A playful arrangement of type in a variety of fonts and sizes combined with mixed-media art that overlays photos on fanciful, childlike drawings provide a feast for young readers' eyes and mimic the boy's upbeat attitude. Finally, Lola herself follows her brother's example and asks him to pass the "moonsquirters my favorite," otherwise known as guess what? Apt not to be satiated with one serving of this appetizing fare, youngsters will never--not ever--pass up a second helping. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

PreS-Gr 2-Child has created two likable, winsome siblings with spunk and imagination. Charlie, who has been asked to give his little sister dinner, narrates this delightful tale. Feeding Lola proves to be a difficult task because she, like many kids, is a fussy eater. She promptly lists the foods she absolutely will not eat, and Charlie cunningly uses a little reverse psychology. He introduces her to items that most certainly look like those on her "will not eat" list, but have unusual names such as, "orange twiglets from Jupiter" (carrots), "green drops from Greenland" (peas), and "ocean nibbles from the supermarket under the sea" (fish sticks). Despite Lola's initial disinclination, Charlie's creative scheme works. While this story is a bit predictable, the book is funny and clever enough for readers to overlook this minor flaw. Child's mixed-media artwork (primitive cartoon characters, photographs, fabric swatches, and wallpaper remnants) enhances the innocent tone of the book. 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.-Holly T. Sneeringer, St. Mark School, Baltimore, MD Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

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