There's no such thing as vegetables by Kyle Lukoff, illustrated by Andrea Tsurumi

 This book is hilarious and also warms the cockles of my fact-checking librarian heart.

Chester, a light-skinned Asian child, pops out to the garden with a basket to pick some vegetables. There's just one problem... well, two. First, the vegetables are talking! Secondly, they say they aren't vegetables! When he tries to investigate further, the broccoli tells him their name is Juanita, and they're a flower, not a vegetable. Potato is a root named Pietro, kale is a leaf named Beatrice, and everything else is a fruit. 

This can't be right. Chester knows what a vegetable is! But the more he tries to define it, the more confused he gets. The non-vegetables point out that there are lots of things humans define that are just made up, like money or countries. Finally, Chester gives up and sets off to have a sandwich. A follow-up by the author talks about social constructs and why we put things into categories.

Tsurumi's slyly humorous illustrations are the perfect fit for Lukoff's tongue-in-cheek prose. The innocent-looking vegetables slyly avoid chomping with their semantic arguments all whilst rolling their eyes and stubbornly refusing to give in to Chester's attempts to make them conform to vegetable-ness.

This book is funny and delightfully subversive on so many levels. It's got science and semantics, plant biology and debate. Enjoy arguing with kids as to whether or not vegetables are actually real and seeing the tipping point as they start to wonder what other things are "real" and what are just things grown-ups made up. Heh heh heh.

Verdict: A must-have for every library and a sure-fire hit in storytimes, especially with elementary-age kids on up through middle schoolers who love to argue.

ISBN: 9781250867841; Published February 2024 by Henry Holt; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library