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Summary
Summary
The lively imagination of Caldecott medalist David Wiesner forecasts astounding goings-on for a Tuesday in the not too distant future--an occurrence of gigantic vegetal proportions.
In this whimsical picture book from a master of the form, broccoli falls from the sky, bracing itself in the backyard; turnips hit the trail in the Rocky Mountains; and lima beans land in Levittown...
"Caldecott medalist Wiesner once again presents an offbeat premise and unconventional artwork to tempt youngsters into his deliciously skewed landscapes. Spectacular to look at, great fun to read--it is, in sum, executed with consummate skill." (Publishers Weekly starred review)
"Fans of Wiesner's offbeat art will be delighted." (The Horn Book starred review)
Author Notes
American children's book author and illustrator David Wiesner was born in Bridgewater, New Jersey on February 5, 1956. He graduated with a BFA in Illustration from Rhode Island School of Design. Known for his imaginative work, Wiesner is particularly celebrated for using wordless storytelling in his picture books. His latest picture book is about two artists; it is entitled, Art & Max.
"Sector 7" and "Free Fall" are Caldecott Honor Books, while Wiesner won the prestigious Caldecott Medal for "Tuesday" (1992), "The Three Pigs" (2002), and "Flotsam" (2007). Wiesner is only the second person to have won this award three times.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-- As in the mysterious goings-on of that particular Tuesday (Clarion, 1991) not long ago, Wiesner again takes off on a flight of fantasy, this time set in the not-too-distant future. This sci-fi adventure begins with Holly Evans, a visionary third grader who launches some seedlings into the ionosphere as part of a science experiment. And so the fun begins. Cabbages fill the sky in one part of the country, turnips in another. ``Lima beans loom over Levittown.'' ``Parsnips pass by Providence.'' Yankee ingenuity reigns supreme as the mammoth veggies are put to some rather creative uses. Of course, there's an extraterrestial twist to this healthful tale and the true fate of Holly's project is at last revealed. The exquisite watercolors are truly out of this world. The three-quarter page paintings utilize unusual perspective and are filled with clever detail. The photorealistic quality of the figures and background vistas only underscores the absurdity of the gigantic airborne produce and accentuates the deadpan humor. By all accounts, June 29, 1999 is a date to remember. --Luann Toth, School Library Journal (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Caldecott Medalist Wiesner once again presents an offbeat premise and unconventional artwork to tempt youngsters into his deliciously skewed landscapes. In this thoroughly winning flight of fancy, it seems the strange events that occurred on Tuesday still continue. Wiesner here leaves the boggy, froggy swamp for suburbia and beyond, setting this work in ``Ho-Ho-kus, New Jersey.'' There Holly Evans sends boxes of planted vegetable seeds into the ionosphere as part of her ambitious third-grade science project--``her classmates are speechless.'' What happens next may or may not be the result of Holly's experiment, but the country is never the same. Giant specimens of produce begin to bombard various regions, as ``cucumbers circle Kalamazoo,'' ``artichokes advance on Anchorage'' and ``cauliflower carpets California.'' (On the same date, it turns out, a space-ship's cook has inadvertently jettisoned mega-vegetables from his galley. Perhaps a bizarre coincidence, perhaps not.) Wiesner's dry humor, irony and artistic wizardry have been masterfully marshalled into a visual and literary feast. Kids will relish rolling amusingly alliterative phrases off their tongues almost as much as they delight in these wryly rendered paintings. From the huge broccoli reminiscent of the fallen tree in Hurricane to the Mount Rushmore-like faces carved from potatoes, readers will adore this imaginative romp. Though several picture books of late have attempted to combine drollery and sophistication, only to end up with results far over youngsters' heads, this work succeeds notably on several levels. Spectacular to look at, great fun to read--it is, in sum, executed with consummate skill. Ages 5-up. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
On May 11, 1999, Holly Evans sends vegetable seedlings into the sky as part of a science experiment. By the end of June, gigantic vegetables are spotted in the sky. Playful, alliterative language catalogs the sightings; the understated text is a perfect foil for the outrageous scenes of vegetables run amok. Fans of Wiesner's offbeat sense of humor will be delighted. From HORN BOOK 1990, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A follow-up to Tuesday (Caldecott, 1992): this time it's flocks of gigantic vegetables wafting through the air, landing all over the US--turnips larger than trees in the Rockies, plane- sized artichokes in Anchorage, limas in Levittown. At first it seems to be the result of young Holly Evans's experiment--she launched seedlings (by balloon) ``to study the effects of extraterrestrial conditions on vegetable growth''--but species are landing that she never sent up. The answer to the mystery makes an amusing conclusion; meanwhile, Wiesner has a lot of fun with details--imagine climbing a giant stalk of broccoli or roping down buoyant bell peppers, to say nothing of marketing these elephantine comestibles--and even more fun with the surreal visual effects. One of the best is some hilariously puzzled, slightly jaded sheep and a couple of Native American farmers investigating the canoe-sized pea-pods that have landed in what might be Monument Valley. The brief tongue-in-cheek text is a plus for story time, but these witty, wonderfully imaginative pictures reward closer study, too. Hurray for Wiesner, and his grand sense of humor! (Picture book. 5+)
Booklist Review
Ages 5 and up. Reality and fantasy humor~ously collide in Wiesner's newest picture book, which, like Tuesday [BKL My 1 91], has us looking skyward for unusual flying objects. But this time, Wiesner supplies a narrative that leaves a little less to the imagination. Intending to "study the effect of extraterrestrial conditions on vegetable growth," budding botanist Holly Evans attaches small container gardens to orange balloons and launches the weird contraptions into the heavens on May 11, 1999. The results exceed her wildest dreams: on June 29, giant vegetables float to earth--"cucumbers circle Kalamazoo; parsnips pass by Providence." Obviously, there's something amiss. But what? Wiesner relies on understatement in the illustrations to convey most of the humor. Generous enough in size to make the book good for use with small groups, his watercolors spread luxuriously across pages, using marvelous aerial perspectives and close-ups to evoke a 1999 classroom and community remarkably like today's. The laugh-out-loud surprise comes at the close, when tentacled aliens bemoan the vegetarian feast they've accidentally jettisoned to earth. The final joke is a little obscure, and Wiesner's dry wit and calculated pictorial references (to the tabloid Star and to Ronco, a name probably known only to kitchen gadget lovers) will be lost on lots of kids. But what child can resist so bizarre a notion as waking up to find broccoli in the backyard and space aliens in the sky, especially when the images are delivered with such glee and in such glorious "photographic" detail. ~--Stephanie Zvirin