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“Pictures of all of the vegetables with their Chinese and English names along with the soup recipe are included. Lin tells her charming story simply, and the pictures reflect its many joys.”
—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

The Ugly Vegetables

Written by Grace Lin
Published by Charlesbridge

In 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.

Primary ISBN: 9780881063363
Available As: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook
Picture Book, Age 04 or older

Community Represented:

Themes: , , ,

Setting: United States

Character’s New Arrival/New American Status: Unknown Arrival

Book Creator(s) Connection to the Community Represented: Own Voices/Lived Experience

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