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Book Review: Children’s tale explores food gone ‘bad’

SaskBooks: Is there a fuzzy something with legs in your fridge?
saskbookspickle
A pickle that grew legs when left in the fridge too long, opens up avenues for adventure.

The Pickle in Grandma’s Fridge
By Elena Bentley
Published by Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing
ISBN 9781988783857 $16.95

The Pickle in Grandma's Fridge is a children’s book written by Elena Bentley and illustrated by Tonia Laird. It has a grandma, a fridge and a fuzzy green pickle. Of course, it’s an interesting story.

Annie is a little girl who goes to her grandma’s after school. How lovely is that? Annie tells Grandma that her friend says if you leave food in the fridge too long it will grow legs. When Annie goes to Grandma’s fridge to get a snack, she sees a very fuzzy green pickle. She thinks Grandma should throw that pickle out before it grows legs. Grandma says,“Don’t be silly. Food can’t grow legs.”

But that night a tap, tap, tap, coming from the fridge wakes Annie. She opens the fridge door and out jumps the fuzzy green pickle. Follow along to find out what happens with Annie, Grandma, and Dil the Fuzzy Pickle. Laird's vivid illustrations will capture the attention of readers young and old, and clear language makes reading along both easy and fun.

The illustrator lets us know Annie's personality through her expressive face. We also see that Grandma is a no-nonsense lady with a house that is as neat and tidy as her appearance. Laird also catches the spirit of the fuzzy green pickle with his cheeky grin and his fuzzy green coat that just asks to be touched.

This fun-to-read story uses clear and straightforward language, making it a great read-aloud either one-on-one or to an entire class. With only three characters and minimal dialogue, it could easily be adapted to a short classroom play, and beginning readers may find solo success with its repetitive phrases and short word count.

With engaging artwork that brings the characters to life, The Pickle in Grandma's Fridge might make you wonder what's happening behind “your” refrigerator door.

This book is available at your local bookstore or from www.saskbooks.com