No More Vegetables!

by Nicole Rubel

Ruthie does not like vegetables. She does not like seeing them on her plate; she does not like hearing about them from her teacher. In spite of Dad's scolding, Ruthie fusses her way through meal after meal. And then Mom has an idea: Ruthie finally gets her way - no more vegetables! - as long as she agrees to help plant and tend this year's vegetable garden. Ruthie figures that growing vegetables will be better than eating them. Little does she suspect...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374363625
• ISBN13: 9780374363628
• Release Date: August 2002
• Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 9.8" x 8.1"
• Age Range: 4 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Kindergarten to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

4 1/2 * Ruthie Hates Vegetables!

Along with Patricia Polacco and Rosemary Wells, Nicole Rubin is one of my favorite author/illustrators of children's books. Although perhaps not as well known as Polacco and Wells, Rubin earned acclaim for her very popular "Rotten Ralph" books (a deliciously riotous series she co-created with Jack Gantos), the very clever "Cyrano the Bear" and "A Cowboy Named Ernestine," and many others. One night at dinner, young Ruthie announces the titular "No More Vegetables!" The next line ("She shared her peas and carrots with the dog.") exemplifies Rubel's very funny, non-sentimental humor. The palette is just as rich as in her other books, but there's an interesting look here. I thought they looked vaguely Spanish, with a touch of Barcelona's Gaudi. Ruthie clearly dislikes vegetables: She tries to convince her younger brother (and herself) that potato chips and French fries "count" as vegetables, and later she a nightmare in which vegetable-people chase her. She even recites a poem of rhyming couplets to her class (which includes the line, "Offer me slimy beats, I'll stomp them with my feets"). Rubel has the kind of emotional honesty that kids will believe and enjoy. Ruthie's mom has a clever plan that has something to do with the girl helping out in the garden. This responsibility, the lack of pressure from her parents, and her own natural hunger has her eating vegetables before too long. This tactic may or may not help your vegetable-aversive child (or spouse), but he or she will enjoy the vibrant colors and pull-no-punches humor. I enjoyed "Cyrano" and "Ernestine" somewhat more than this book, but it's another winner by Rubel, and it may just fit the bill for your youngster. Please look into this and other examples of Rubel's fine work. She also has an excellent web page.

Beautiful Book

We first checked this book out from the library when our son was around two. He loved it so much that we ended up buying it. The wonderful illustrations and imaginative story keep this book at the top of his reading list.

Yes! More Vegetables.....

Ruthie is very definite. "NO MORE VEGETABLES!" Her parents can't convince her to eat them. A trip to the pediatrician doesn't work, and even a school lesson about the food pyramid and the importance of eating a well balanced diet falls flat when Ruthie stands up and declares: "Give me a yucky carrot,/I'll feed it to the parrot./Offer me slimy beets/'I'll stomp them with my feets./A heap of green peas/only makes me sneeze./I was not born/to eat spinach and corn./No more vegetables!" Finally her parents give up. She doesn't have to eat any more vegetables, if she helps in the garden..... Nicole Rubel's humorous and witty text is only outdone by her bold, bright, and playful illustrations, filled with dazzling color and clever eye-catching detail. Together word and art offer a captivating picture book, with an amusing and satisfying ending, that is sure to delight and charm picky eaters everywhere. No More Vegetables! is a fun-filled and engaging preschool crowd pleaser, and who knows, it just might make eating vegetables more appealing to your little ones.