When Vegetables Go Bad!

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

Because Ivy is a little girl who will not eat her vegetables, she and
her mother have a showdown at the dinner table. “You are going to sit
there until you finish those vegetables, young lady,” her mother says.
Ivy cheats by jamming a plate full of cold peas, carrots, and string
beans into her pants pocket. She thinks she has succeeded with her trick
until, late at night, Ivy hears singing all around her. She sits up in
bed to find herself surrounded by giant vegetables who have “gone
bad.” They try to grab her but Ivy sprints between the legs of a giant
turnip and runs for her life. The veggies chase her down the stairs, out
the door, and through the streets of her neighborhood. When the legume
posse starts to gain on her, Ivy runs back to her bedroom and hides
under her blankets. Her mother wakes her up, and Ivy is a changed
person. “I love beans,” Ivy says, “especially yellow ones.” To
prove it she devours three small limp beans she was clutching in her
hand.

Gillmor’s writing is inconsistent. In some places it is well honed,
while in others words seem thrown in to fill the hole. The plot,
overall, is cute but unremarkable. Gay’s illustrations, on the other
hand, are consistently great. The simultaneous terror and silliness of a
little child’s nightmare are brought to life through Gay’s
unmistakable style. Recommended.