From School Library Journal
Grade 1-3-Lauren loves pickles with a passion. For her class's field trip to a pickle factory, she even dresses head to toe in shades of green-"elegant emerald, chilling chartreuse"-to look like the briny treat. When an experiment gone wrong results in an explosion, the girl springs into action and saves the day, thereby spreading her love of pickles to the rest of the class. Rather than heroic, however, she feels lost. Her enthusiasm for pickles had made her unique, but now everyone shares her taste for them. Advised by her mother that "Giving brings giving back," she opens a pickle museum. Some readers may find the protagonist's extreme devotion to pickles a bit hard to swallow. Lines such as "I could never lose respect for something so silent, bumpy, beautiful, and green" are presented with straight-faced solemnity. Nolen's literary style and extensive vocabulary place the story beyond the reading level of most primary graders, but it is easy to follow visually when read aloud, thanks to Tilley's watercolor paintings. The characters are simply sketched, but their subtle facial expressions and body language clearly illustrate the action and emotion of each scene, and pickle paraphernalia adds fun details. This title will appeal to some tastes more than others.
Eve Ortega, Cypress Library, CACopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
About the Author
JERDINE NOLEN is the author of many beloved books for children, including Plantzilla, illustrated by David Catrow, which Publishers Weekly praised in a starred review for having "plenty of heart," and Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm. She lives in Maryland.
DEBBIE TILLEY is the illustrator of dozens of books for young readers. She lives in Escondido, California.
