01516    a2200169   4500001000700000020001800007040003200025100001500057245002400072300000800096362000900104520114400113650002601257650002601283650002301309650001401332125687  a9780329256029  cEscola Canadense de Niteroi  aLin, Grace10aThe Ugly Vegetables  bil.0 a1999  aIn this charming story about celebrating differences a Chinese-American girl wishes for a garden of bright flowers instead of one full of bumpy, ugly, vegetables. The neighbors' gardens look so much prettier and so much more inviting to the young gardener than the garden of "black-purple-green vines, fuzzy wrinkled leaves, prickly stems, and a few little yellow flowers" that she and her mother grow. Nevertheless, mother assures her that "these are better than flowers." Come harvest time, everyone agrees as those ugly Chinese vegetables become the tastiest, most aromatic soup they have ever known. As the neighborhood comes together to share flowers and ugly vegetable soup, the young gardener learns that regardless of appearances, everything has its own beauty and purpose.

THE UGLY VEGETABLES springs forth with the bright and cheerful colors of blooming flowers and lumpy vegetables. Grace Lin's playful illustrations pour forth with abundant treasures. Complete with a guide to the Chinese pronunciation of the vegetables and the recipe for ugly vegetable soup! Try it . . . you'll love it, too! (Grade Level: Kindergarten - 3) 4aChildren's Literature 4aFruits and Vegetables 4aChinese Americans  4aGardening