The Ugly Vegetables

This is a great book to help children remember that even the 'ugly' food can taste great. Love to read about how others grow food and the common ground they find. Great book.

Each Grace Lin book I get, I am just so impressed by her talent! Every child loves to get their hands into dirt and growing flowers or vegetables is always fun and gives the child great pride to show everyone their hard work and or beautiful flowers!Every child wants to be just the same as their friends, especially those in the neighborhood. Mom and daughter start in the spring to plant their garden and while everyone else in the neighborhood each have their own way of tending their gardens totally different from how her and her mom garden. When their plants appear they look like grass, where other neighbors' appear they look like normal plants. The little girl constantly asks questions as all children do, why mommy, why mommy and her mommy patiently answers each of her daughters questions. When others in the neighborhood have beautiful flowersthat smell so good, the little girls garden has what she sees as ugly plants with no beautiful scents. Once the vegetables are ready to be harvested the little girl and mother gather their wheelbarrow with their vegetables. Later that afternoon the daughter is out playing in the yard and smells a wonderful smell and it's coming from her house! Her mom has made soup using their harvest and her mom gives her a bowl..... it tastes so good! Then there comes knocking at their door and it's the little girls neighbors wanting to trade their beautiful flowers for a bowl of soup. The Mom tells the neighbors about each vegetables and the next spring the little girl notices her neighbors growing " Ugly Vegetables" too!I love that Lin includes a receipe to make using these so called "ugly vegetables" and that she included their names and even sounded them out. Keep up the good work Mrs. Lin and I'll keep on buying your books and singing praises to anyone who'll read my reviews!

I was drawn to this book for several reasons. First off, I have a child born in and adopted from China and am naturally drawn to books relating to Chinese people. As much as I want her to understand her birth culture I am also learning at the same time. We have several Grace Lin books in our library at home and have loved everyone of them. What I love about this book is that it illustrates how we all have something to teach one another and that through our sharing and teaching we actually become comfortable with ourselves. This isn't just a book about some unusual vegetables, it's a story about people and what we each have to offer the world.

Well written. Different take on growing a garden.

Bought this for my 3 year old granddaughter along with some gardening tools, gloves & hat for her birthday because last summer she had a fantastic time with her other grandmother as she tended her garden in the Czech Republic - it reminded me of the photos I received of her during that time. Even though it is about Chinese vegetables, it seemed the ideal book. She loves looking at the colorful illustrations and "reading" it to herself - over & over! My 11 year old granddaughter is a fan of Grace Lin books, too. (Me, too!)

Deals with its ok to be different and perhaps others will like it.

I have had this book before and used it with the children in my classroom to celebrate Chinese New Year. I could not find it in my local library as I had before, so I checked on Amazon and, as always, they had the book. We read the book and then used the recipe in the back of the book to make a very tasty soup with the children ( great science, math, and prediction activites ). The results were just as I hoped they would be - a great hands-on learning experience. The children loved preparing the vegetables, predicting if these truly unusual-looking vegetables would taste good, and eating the soup. I recommend this book as a great teaching tool and a wonderful experience for children.

This book brings back memories for me as a Chinese girl growing up in Texas. Feeling different. Then appreciating my mother's vision and skills. The brightly colored illustrations are fun, and the story has been a wonderful jumping off point for conversations between my mother, my kids, and myself about culture and community. It's a family favorite.

My daughter us only two, so she won't want yet give all the attention to it. But book is fantastic and she likes it too. Teaches cultural diversity through food. Illustrations are bright and full of lovely colours

A wonderful book. The children in school loved it and asked for it to be passed around the different classes. What more can one say!

Great quality and quick delivery

Loved by my granddaughter