PICKY MRS. PICKLE

PLB 0-8027-8703-7 Mrs. Pickle is definitely a vision: she’s rather pickle-shaped herself; is always dressed in her favorite color, green; has the tight orange curls of Lucille Ball; and plays fast and loose with some pickle-green eyeshadow. She has her favorite things and favorite habits, and she won’t try anything new because “I like the things I like.” Her niece, Sophie Claire, however, bored with all things pickle, makes her aunt an offer she can’t refuse, and Mrs. Pickle at last tries a different kind of ice cream—eggplant ripple. She finds she likes it, and the final spread shows her in a bright red frock, learning to paint. The rhymed text is a little clunky and its message isn’t for the subtle, but the pictures, with their acid greens and exaggerated gestural figures, have charm; children will see themselves in Mrs. Pickle’s picky habits, and have a good laugh. (Picture book. 5-8)