[.uk] I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato (Charlie and Lola) (ISBN 0763621803)

Amazon.com Review:
Lola is a very fussy eater. Carrots are for rabbits and peas are "too small and too green." One day, after rattling off her long list of despised foods, she ends with the vehement pronouncement, "And I absolutely will never not ever eat a tomato." Not convinced, Lola's older sister Charlie has an idea. She tells Lola that the orange things on the table are not carrots, but "orange twiglets from Jupiter" and peas are in fact "green drops from Greenland." Mashed potatoes, when pitched as "cloud fluff from the pointiest peak of Mount Fuji" suddenly seem appealing to Lola. And in the end, might she even eat a tomato? Lauren Child's wacky, expressive sketches of Lola and Charlie (much like those in Clarice Bean, That's Me) are cut out and superimposed on all sorts of textures and patterns from wallpaper to wood. Fuzzy, enlarged photographs of bowls of peas, or fish sticks, or big carrots are pasted right on top to great effect. This funny, endearing look at how children's tastes can be based more on preconception than taste buds is sure to infuse levity into the daily dinner-table struggle. The author's dedication? "With love from Lauren / who is keen on Marmite / but would rather not eat a raisin." (Ages 3 to 8) --Karin Snelson

One of the Cutest Pop-Up Books Ever:
I love this book. It is so cute and even convinces my three-year old to eat foods she doesn't want to!

Great book, nieces (5 and 2.5) loved it:
Charlie has to look after his little sister and give her dinner. Unfortunately, Lola is a very picky eater, and we have to sit through the entire list of things she won't eat. ESPECIALLY not tomatoes. So he decides to "play a good trick on her" and tell her that all these foods she "won't eat" are really *different* and exotic foods that she's sure to love. (Are you sure you don't want these green drops? I'll eat them, then, they're very rare!) Predictably (to us grown-ups), she gobbles all these foods up, and then turns the table on her brother by asking for the tomatoes (These? Are you sure you want THESE?) declaring that they're "moonsquirters" and saying "You didn't think they were tomatoes, did you Charlie?" What's interesting is that this technique is actually recommended for both child and adult picky eaters. Oh, not the trickery, but the use of pleasant sounding names to make foods sound appealing. (And really, Lola wasn't tricked at all, was she?)

Grandson's favorite!:
This story is my grandson's favorite of Charlie and Lolas. I was very impressed with the intricate pop ups on each page----very nice!!

Fabulous story, but the pop up tabs don't work well at all:
Get the non-pop up, the story is really wonderful and funny - not a boring read for mom and dad. I'm very disappointed, though; I love this book and we used to get it all the time from the library (non-pop up). We could only find the pop up hardcover online and it doesn't work well at all. The flow is hard to follow, too, and I'm always missing part of the story as I read, and having to go back.

Cute Book:
Cute illustrations and clever text. May not change the mind of a dedicated vegetable-hater, but they'll enjoy it.