When I was a kid, I was a pretty serious picky eater. My mum says I also managed to influence my younger sisters into picky eating; if I vetoed it, no one would eat it. I'm not sure how true that bit is, but the picky eating thing is a pretty universal experience for kids. Which means there will always be picky eating picture books. Fortunately, most of them are pretty good. When Vegetables go Bad! is an older one of these, but still great.

Despite her mother's insistence, Ivy refuses to eat her vegetables. Instead, she hides them around her room (ew!). But then one night, the vegetables go bad! There's a carrot picking his teeth with a knife, a turnip lying about how good he tastes, and broccoli stretching out her clothes. And they're all singing a song about how they'll follow her like a curse. Ivy manages to get away and runs down the street, only to be followed closely by a gang of vegetables, whose "hot vegetable breath" she can feel on her shoulder. Just as she dashes back into her house, a bunch of yellow runner beans grab her legs. Lucky for Ivy her mum appears just in time, and she manages to choke down the cold, soggy beans.

There are two things I love about this book: First off, I love that the message isn't eat your vegetables because they taste good. Instead, you should eat your vegetables because if you don't, they might just eat you! Secondly, it’s illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay. Do I really need to elaborate on that one?

When Vegetables go Bad! written by Don Gillmor illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay
ISBN 0385255543
32 pages