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We Are Vegetables, Who Wants to Eat Us?

Three Stars (out of Five)

In We Are Vegetables, a book designed to teach children about good nutrition, a variety of vegetables and fruits introduce themselves to young readers. “I can help you heal when you have the flu or a cold,” garlic says. Each vegetable lists several of its nutrients and describes how it can help children’s health. Two vegetable recipes complete the book.

For over twenty years, author Dérahonon Djédjé has been a nanny and a certified home health aid. She is the author of Babysitter Log and Senior Caregiver Log. We Are Vegetables is her first children’s book.

The brilliant, eye-catching colors of the book’s superb illustrations will appeal to youngsters. The anthropomorphic vegetables are delightful with their prominent, sometimes bulging, eyes and big smiles. The illustrations maintain every vegetable’s uniqueness while giving them faces, arms, and legs.

Each vegetable is also depicted with a high quality photograph. This combination of anthropomorphic vegetables and photos of real vegetables works well. An introductory photograph of a woman sitting in front of a pile of vegetables needs a caption, however, if it depicts the author. Otherwise, children would prefer a photo of a child.

The book is designated for toddlers, preschoolers, and older children, but the nine to thirteen sentences on each page will overwhelm toddlers. Preschoolers also respond best to brief text, though they will enjoy the repeated pattern at the end of each vegetable’s comments. The artichoke follows this pattern by saying, “Do you know who I am? I am an artichoke. Who wants to eat me?”

The text is more appropriate for school-age children. Youngsters who are making progress with reading skills will appreciate the predominance of short sentences and easy words.

We Are Vegetables could be an important text for teaching children about healthy foods and thus aid in the fight against health problems, including childhood obesity.  

Norma D. Kellam