These Children's Books Make Reading Fun

DECATUR, Ill. (DTN) -- We worry a lot about whether the information in children's books is accurate and presents agriculture in a correct and appropriate way. Because of this, animals that talk and stereotypical farmers who wear overalls and say shucks don't always make recommended reading lists.

Time out.

I'm calling a moratorium on the concept for this column. Call me bananas, but keeping kids engaged in reading is also important. Sometimes it takes books that are just plain fun to get the job done.

Jeanne Willis does that with "Old Macdonald had a Phone" (Anderson Press/Lerner Publishing Group, Inc., illustrations by Tony Ross, $17.99 hardcover, ages 4-9) You and the kids are bound to identify with this farmer who "loves his phone."

But when phone-aholic farmer Macdonald loses his phone and mistakenly orders multiple replacements, the animals jump on the party line and start messaging and chatting and doing other "phony" things. Notifications replace animal noises and production wanes around the farm. Finally, old Macdonald puts his foot down and locks the phones away, much to the dismay of the now phone-addicted barnyard critters.

It takes young Macdonald to convince old Macdonald that technology isn't all bad. An in-person group chat takes place. Differences are aired and new rules for phone use are put in place. Eggs resume being laid and milk is made. The farm bills get paid ... well at least the phone bill?

Silly, you say? Sure ... but can't we all learn a lesson on the need to balance screen time? Plus, the book is a romp, and you'll find yourself singing old Macdonald with a whole new attitude.

CHALLENGE THOSE PICKY EATERS

Author Ryan Miller takes a humorous twist on the topic of picky eaters in "How to Feed Your Parents" (Sterling Children's Books, illustrations by Hatem Alley, $16.98 hardcover, ages 2-6).

Matilda Macaroni's parents have a short list of things they will eat. Think chicken nuggets, boxed macaroni cheese, pizza and burgers that come in a bag with a toy. To get something decent on her plate, Matilda finds the kitchen and begins to cook for herself.

In this work/play adventure, Matilda enlists her grandmother's help to learn kitchen safety. She starts reading cookbooks and uses her allowance to buy fresh ingredients from the local farmers market.

Matilda's efforts succeed as her parents get a taste of good food and are swayed to promise to at least try new foods without a constant fuss. There's a recipe for quiche at the end of the book and plenty of opportunity to discuss the merits of farm-raised food.

Who knows, making the parents picky eaters is zany reverse psychology that may just work.

FRUIT AND VEGETABLE FOOD FIGHT

More than one parent has tried to convince children to eat tomatoes by claiming the orbs are a fruit. But are they really?

Lindsay H. Metcalf's new book "Tomatoes on Trial: The Fruit versus Vegetable Showdown" (Calkins Creek/Imprint of Astra Book for Young Readers, $18.99, ages 7-10, illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham) tackles the how and why of this long controversy.

It all starts in 1886 with New York merchant John Nix and a tax collector by the name of Edward Hedden. When Hedden tries to slap a vegetable customs charge on Nix for importing tomatoes, a food fight ensues.

Nix tried to get around the tariff by arguing that tomatoes are fruits because they had seeds and grew from flowers. While he forked over the tax money to save his tomato shipment, he vowed to set the record and his bank account straight.

Metcalf makes the six-year-long lawsuit that waged fun by dividing the argument into Team Fruit and Team Vegetable. The U.S. Supreme Court finally decides tomatoes are vegetables.

Metcalf, who grew up on a Kansas farm, takes a little-known agriculturally based story from American history and makes it palatable for young readers. There's lots to learn about how tomatoes came to be a commodity.

The book's back matter discusses details of how to argue a case if readers are motivated to take a stand. You'll learn that Ohio and Tennessee still consider the tomato to be the state fruit. On the other hand, New Jersey considers it the state vegetable. Arkansas throws tomatoes on both sides of the argument by naming it both state fruit and state vegetable.

Read a DTN review of Metcalf's earlier book: "Farmers Unite: Planting a Protest for Fair Prices" here: https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Pamela Smith can be reached at pamela.smith@dtn.com

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