Talia and the Rude Vegetables (Talia)

by Linda Elovitz Marshall (Author) Francesca Assirelli (Illustrator)

Talia and the Rude Vegetables (Talia)
Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade
Series: Talia
"How can a vegetable be 'rude'?" Talia wonders, when she mis-hears her grandmother asking her to gather "root" vegetables for a Rosh Hashanah stew. As Talia digs in the garden, she collects the twisted, ornery carrots and parsnips--the "rude" vegetables that she thinks her grandmother wants--and finds a good home for the rest.
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School Library Journal

K-Gr 2--Talia's grandmother asks her to pick seven root vegetables from the garden for a Rosh Hashanah recipe. Mishearing her, the child seeks out "rude" vegetables, creatively interpreting the plants' awkward shapes as misbehavior. In the process, she sets aside the unwanted perfect produce and does a mitzvah by donating it to feed the hungry. This is a book of missed opportunity. It starts out strong, as Talia ponders the meaning of the Jewish New Year: asking forgiveness for misdeeds and promising to do better. This theme is reinforced by her thoughts on the first few veggies; for instance, an ornery onion that is difficult to dig up "won't do what it's told," and a garishly purple garlic bulb "seems like a big show-off." However, the story is weakened by Talia's explanations petering out halfway through, and by the lack of explicit redemption for these rude vegetables (being cooked into delicious stew could make up for their supposed bad behavior, but this is never made clear). In an anticlimactic ending, the story stops before the vegetables are even cooked, and readers never find out whether Talia learned anything from her mistake. A recipe for vegetable stew is included.--Heidi Estrin, Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel, Boca Raton, FL

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Kirkus

Marshall incorporates many new words to extend the term “rude” while at the same time allowing youngsters, who will soon realize Talia’s mix-up, to learn the names of the various root vegetables.

Copyright 2011 Kirkus Reviews, LLC Used with permission

Review quotes



Classification
-
ISBN-13
9780761352181
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Kar-Ben Publishing (R)
Publication date
August 01, 2011
Series
Talia
BISAC categories
JUV017090 - Juvenile Fiction | Holidays & Celebrations | Other, Religious
Library of Congress categories
Gardening
Judaism
Customs and practices
Vegetables
Rosh ha-Shanah

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