SWEET AND SOUR

Talk about opposites not attracting.

Sweet and Sour are pickles who don’t get along. They live on opposite sides of a fence, and their habits and dispositions are wildly different. Long and skinny Sour is slow; short and round Sweet is speedy. Sour is angry; Sweet is happy. Sour prefers the quiet; Sweet likes things loud. As for actual taste, Sour derives his flavor from vinegar and garlic; Sweet’s signature piquancy comes from having been prepared with “cinnamon and sugar and a bop of mustard seed.” Can these contrarians reconcile? Things improve after Sour throws a pool party and invites every pickle—except Sweet. Sour feels guilty when he peers over the fence and spies an angry-looking Sweet in a tiny wading pool. For his part, Sweet considers that maybe the pair aren’t so different and writes Sour a note asking to meet. They become friends, share pickle puns, and build a community where all pickles are welcome. Though many children may dislike pickles (or perhaps haven’t yet tasted them), they’ll feel reassured by this humorous story about opposites discovering commonalities and becoming friends. Young kids may not get the puns, but grown-ups can help with that. Emergent readers should find the simple text easy to navigate. The colorful illustrations are lively; the unconventional protagonists are engaging, their body language and exaggerated expressions speaking volumes.

Readers definitely won’t sour on this sweet friendship tale.