…but the Ocean has other plans! Sima’s story hinges on Jules’ adoration of her big sister (unnamed and with slightly darker brown skin than Jules’ and their mom’s). Little Jules is determined to impress her big sister with an amazing sand castle… Corn’s neat mustache, the visual focus is on the veggies’ hip exuberance rather than gender stereotypes.Ī rousing read-aloud begging for enthusiastic performers. Aside from some pink tutus for the sweet potato sisters and Mr. YEAHHHH.” The gifted Tate’s illustrations resemble loose, translucent watercolors contoured by wide, waxy lines. “Then, / the sweet potato sisters / dance as sweet as pie, / pirouette and flit / and flutter, / curtsy with a sigh.” After working up a sweat, it’s time to slow-dance back into the “delicious coldness” of the fridge, “(sweet potatoes to the bin),” all contemplating “their / fantabulous / PAR-TAY. In between, syncopated rhymes introduce the fruits and vegetables, many of whom take up instruments to “make a mighty music / for the party that’s to come.” After turns by Zucchini and Hip-Hop String Bean, “The baby limas wobble-dance, / can hardly stand at all, / their mamas run / and catch them, / the moment they start to fall.” Next up: hot chili peppers and a stately waltz from Mr. Greenfield’s beginning and ending passages are in free verse. They dance, of course-once Cabbage summons them forth as the family departs. (Apr.Greenfield invites children to imagine what a fridge full of veggies might do once their people leave for the evening. Illustrator’s agent: Caryn Wiseman, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Author’s agent: Marie Brown, Marie Brown Assoc. Tate’s big shapes, bold colors, and infectious beats will hold up to many readalouds. Except for the refined waltzing couple, all the vegetables share a happy-go-lucky, jazzy vibe. And while the repetition of “Par-tay!” adds crowd-pleasing fun and predictability, a new chant of “Go, ’Choke! Go, ’Choke! Go, ’Choke!” inserts some irresistible surprise. Greenfield writes vivid verses, with breezy references to different dance styles and flashes of real comedy (“Somebody save me!” says the ecstatic asparagus after “doing the pop”). The baby limas, who can “barely stand at all,” try their best to do the wobble dance the corn and arugula waltz and the sweet potatoes, dressed in pink tutus, do pirouettes. “Par-tay!” shouts the cabbage-which becomes the book’s refrain-and with the eggplant, basil, tomato, and Swiss chard on instruments, everybody else takes a turn on the floor. When the humans go out for the evening, the vegetables in the fridge-along with the sweet potatoes in the bin-go wild.

PAR-TAY! by Eloise Greenfield