I Will Never Not EVER Eat a Tomato

I Will Never Not EVER Eat a Tomato was written and illustrated by Lauren Child. It was published by Orchard Books in 2000. It is realistic Fiction and is appropriate for grades K-2.
This is a story in the Charlie and Lola series. Charlie and Lola are a brother and sister pair from England. In this story Charlie is left in charge of Lola for the evening while their parents go out. It is Charlie’s job to feed his very picky sister dinner. Charlie offers Lola lots of choices for dinner, but she doesn’t seem to like any of the food he offers. This is when Charlie gets creative. He makes up stories for all of the food that Lola won’t eat so that the food seems different, interesting and fun to eat. Carrots are not carrots anymore but orange twiglets from Jupiter. Peas are not peas, but green drops from Greenland. They go through many of the foods that Lola said she wouldn’t eat and she tries and likes all of them. In the end Lola actually asks for a tomato. When Charlie acts surprised, Lola simply says that she of course loves moon squirters!
This book gives a new twist to kids being picky eaters. Most kids at some point refuse to eat certain foods. This book shows that if kids just try some foods they may actually like them. This book can be used to try and open children’s minds, but also to identify foods. The words can be covered up in the story and the kids can identify what kind of food it is. Food is something that all kids can relate to and if kids are given the option they will be picky. I Will Never Not EVER Eat a Tomato is a good tool to use in a practical lesson for younger students.