The Ugly Vegetables

In this charming story about celebrating differences a Chinese-American girl wishes for a garden of bright flowers instead of one full of bumpy, ugly, vegetables. The neighbors' gardens look so much prettier and so much more inviting to the young gardener than the garden of "black-purple-green vines, fuzzy wrinkled leaves, prickly stems, and a few little yellow flowers" that she and her mother grow. Nevertheless, mother assures her that "these are better than flowers." Come harvest time, everyone agrees as those ugly Chinese vegetables become the tastiest, most aromatic soup they have ever known. As the neighborhood comes together to share flowers and ugly vegetable soup, the young gardener learns that regardless of appearances, everything has its own beauty and purpose.

THE UGLY VEGETABLES springs forth with the bright and cheerful colors of blooming flowers and lumpy vegetables. Grace Lin's playful illustrations pour forth with abundant treasures. Complete with a guide to the Chinese pronunciation of the vegetables and the recipe for ugly vegetable soup Try it . . . you'll love it, too

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Charlesbridge Publishing
Published: 07/01/1999
ISBN: 9780881063363
Pages: 32
Weight: 0.82lbs
Size: 8.31h x 10.30w x 0.34d
Award: California Young Reader Medal - Nominee

Review Citations: Kirkus Review - Children 06/15/1999 pg. 966
Publishers Weekly 07/05/1999 pg. 69
School Library Journal 09/01/1999 pg. 193
Booklist 09/15/1999 pg. 268
Booklist 10/15/1999 pg. 455
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/1999 pg. 18 - Superior,Well Above Average
Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2000 pg. 18 - Superior,Well Above Average

Accelerated Reader Quiz #/Name: 32425 / Ugly Vegetables
Reading Level: 3.1 / Interest Level: Lower Grade / Point Value: 0.5