The Trouble with Cauliflower

by Jane Sutton

Book Overview

With charming illustrations full of funny details, this book tells a classic story about friendship and the power of positive thinking. Full color.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0803727070
• ISBN13: 9780803727076
• Release Date: March 2006
• Publisher: Dial Books
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 10.8" x 9.3"
• Age Range: 4 years and up
• Grade Range: Preschool and higher

Customer Reviews

a great lesson in not blaming foods for our problems

Mortimer thinks that certain foods will bring him bad luck. In this funny tale he learns that one should not always blame one's problems on what they ate the night before. But although I still will believe that a corn chip actually did cause me to catch the flu when i was a pre-teen, I guess this book is right; vegetables and certain beverages will not cause bad luck or other bad events.

A fine story of food preferences and superstition evolves, enhanced by fun drawings

Jim Harris' fun drawings lend to the story of a superstitious koala who has made her best friend a lovely cauliflower stew. Sadie knows cauliflower causes bad luck - or does she? Mortimer eats her stew and expects and gets the worst day ever - so what will happen when Sadie tricks him into eating cauliflower again? A fine story of food preferences and superstition evolves, enhanced by fun drawings.

You don't make friends with salad, you don't make friends with salad...

There are hundreds of thousands of wonderful picture books for children out in the world. Unfortunately, of these books only a handful read aloud well to small children. It doesn't matter how much you love a book or how vibrantly you articulate it for the little 'uns. The fact of the matter remains that only those authors with the keenest of ears will be able to pen a title that sounds just as fine to a class of 20 screaming Kindergartners as it does a single well-behaved six-year-old. Now I consider myself a readaloud-picture-book-seeking-machine. I sniff them out in all their variegated forms, trying to locate the best and brightest of the lot every year. My library also receives a great many brand new picture book titles. Some are mere days old while others haven't even hit bookstore shelves yet. Recently we received a shipment from Dial Books For Young Readers. I was delighted because I'd been anticipating a couple stories that I knew would be included. In the box, however, there were other books that I'd never even heard of. And one of these was, "The Trouble With Cauliflower". I viewed the galley with a skeptical eye. I flipped its pages. I sat down and devoured its text. And the conclusion I reached startled me. This, ladies and gentlemen, is one of those rare and wonderful readalouds I constantly search for without cease. A fine funny book and a rather charming read. Mortimer the koala and Sadie the ostrich (or possibly emu) are friends. One night, Sadie invites Mortimer over for dinner to partake of a delicious stew she's been making. At first our koala hero refuses to dine, for he knows that there is cauliflower in the bowl and, "whenever I eat cauliflower, I have bad luck the next day". Sadie wisely pooh-poohs this idea, and before long Mortimer's polished off four helpings of the stuff. Unfortunately, he pays for it the next day. He stubs his toe, and spills orange juice, and fails a very important driver's test. That night he has Sadie over for dinner at his place and she brings a lovely vegetable surprise casserole. The next day after that, Mortimer has nothing but luck. It's only when Sadie confesses that the "surprise" in the casserole was cauliflower that Mortimer admits that she was right (in a roundabout manner). On the way home, Sadie suggests a nip of lemonade. "Oh, no, I can't... Every time I drink lemonade, it starts to rain". There's something about Sutton's language in this book that lends itself to reading aloud. Partly it's the placement and emotional resonance of the pictures. Partly, it's how well Sutton puts her words together. This isn't something I'll be able to describe. Suffice it to say, Sutton has her writing chops firmly in place. Meanwhile, illustrator Jim Harris (best known at this point in time for the Cajun tale, "Petite Rouge") is all about the details. And I, a sucker for any illustrator who cares enough to render a rather believable animal-run DMV, approve of his wor

No trouble with this cauliflower

"There is nothing good or bad but thinking makes it so" Hamlet Mortimer the Koala has convinced himself that cauliflower is the harbinger of bad luck. He steadfastly refuses to eat the accursed vegetable for fear that all sorts of calamity will ensue if he does. Then one day he is having dinner at his Ostrich friend Sadie's house where she is serving a delicious stew. The stew contains cauliflower, of course, and, despite his superstitious reservations, Mortimer's hunger wins out. As he predicted, calamity does ensue the following day and in many hilarious ways. Mortimer places the blame squarely on the albino-broccoli. When Sadie later serves him "vegetable surprise" casserole and no ill events occur it is easy (for adults at least) to guess what surprise vegetable the casserole contained. Regardless of the lack of surprise, as those same adults read and re-read this story to their children (and believe me kids are going to demand re-readings) they can ponder the philosophical questions of self-fulfilling prophecies and how much of an effect attitude has on the course of human events. Their young ones meanwhile will simply soak in the playfully sweet (but never saccharine) prose by Sutton and the lively illustrations by Harris. And you know what? As an adult I enjoyed those as well. This is far-above-average fare that entertains, but never panders, and talks to but never down to its audience. And you never know, it may get kids to eat their vegetables.

The Trouble with Cauliflower is Adorable and Hilarious

People are naturally superstitious. It's common for baseball players to refuse to wash their socks during a winning streak or for executives to wear a lucky tie during important presentations. The protagonist of "The Trouble with Cauliflower," a cuddly koala named Mortimer, believes that eating cauliflower will cause him to have bad luck the next day. His best friend, Sadie, an ostrich (or emu?), tries to prove him wrong. Sadie and Mortimer are sweet and charming, and I hope there will be more books about them in the future. Their friendship reminded me of George and Martha, two of my favorite children's book characters of all time. In "The Trouble with Cauliflower," Jane Sutton takes the complex concept of self-fulfilling prophesy and makes it easy for children to understand. Unlike many children's books, "The Trouble with Cauliflower" is subtle and does not feel preachy. Readers will laugh out loud at several points, especially the book's hilarious ending. Sutton's entertaining story is bolstered by Jim Harris's vibrant illustrations. Every picture is gorgeous and filled with fun details. Harris does an incredible job showing the characters' emotions. In addition to koala Mortimer and emu Sadie, readers will be delighted by the giraffes, hippos, and elephant. Children will also love searching for the mouse that's hidden on every page. "The Trouble with Cauliflower" is destined to become a favorite of adults and children alike.