  | Broccoli is trying to kill me Author: Evans, Katie | |
| Price: $23.28 | ||
Summary:
It's one girl against an army of vegetables in this hilariously hyperbolic picture book about our leafy green (and red, orange, purple, and yellow) frenemies.
| Illustrator: | Allen, Savannah |
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (11/01/25)
School Library Journal (+) (12/12/25)
Booklist (02/01/26)
Full Text Reviews:
School Library Journal - 12/12/2025 PreS-Gr 2—This delightful story immerses readers in the cloak-and-dagger world inside a refrigerator. As her father cooks dinner, a young girl's aversion to vegetables comes to life as her imagination takes over. Convinced that her refrigerator, full of a variety of vegetables, is plotting her demise, she takes a treacherous trip through the shelves as alliteration is employed to give life and personality to each vicious veggie. Mushrooms are militant, brussels sprouts are brutish, spinach smothers, but none are as evil or imposing as broccoli. The girl's only goal is to avoid broccoli at all costs, and her world stops momentarily when she comes face-to-face with her nemesis: broccoli hidden in the mac and cheese her father has made for dinner. She has to make a snap decision whether to face broccoli head-on or retreat. Not wanting to appear cowardly, she takes a bite and tastes sweet victory. The vividly colored, hand-drawn illustrations delightfully pull readers deeper into the story, making it wholly enjoyable. VERDICT This enthralling story will captivate and open readers' minds to trying new vegetables.—Misty Schattle - Copyright 2025 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
Booklist - 02/01/2026 Tables are turned when a picky eater battles a fridge full of food rather than her father in this tasty tale. While the cover art featuring larger-than-life-size broccoli will draw in the audience, the plot reveals an imaginative child’s approach to avoiding fresh vegetables. With a plan scratched out in butter by the plotting produce, radishes rush out, tomatoes tiptoe, and kale creeps, keeping the girl on a constant lookout. When mac and cheese—thought to be a veg-less meal—is announced for dinner, the dish is celebrated, but that’s when the food begins to attack. Her father is no help, only offering that “vegetables make you strong,” so with asparagus whacking, peas pinging, and carrots poking, the only way the girl can stop them is by taking a deep breath followed by a big chomp, leading to a delicious victory. White backgrounds highlight the high jinks of the cute, cartoony vegetables with menacing expressions. Short sentences featuring loads of alliteration make this a great read-aloud for kids looking for a funny food fight. - Copyright 2026 Booklist.
