"The scuffle didn't last long. The veggies had won and they made all the Bad Lollies clean up the mess they had made."
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A Vegie Adventure by Artie Erlich Trafford Publishing
book review by Mihir Shah
From the cosmic perspective of good and bad, A Vegie Adventure is a lighthearted children's story that strives to help children understand, from an early age, that vegetables are good and candy is bad.
The story revolves around the inhabitants of the Mini Mart: the Good Vegies and the Bad Lollies. With the store having just closed, the Good Vegies, including Tim Tomato, Peter Potato, Brian Broccoli, Leslie Celery, Sally Spinach, and Carl Carrot are surprised at the commotion in aisle 13. Creeping closer, they realize that the Bad Lollies are having a party. None of the Bad Lollies, from the boisterous Ben Banana, Larry Licorice, and Sam Snake to the defiant Jelly Baby, Jill Jaffa, and Mandy Marshmallow, are willing to listen to the Good Vegies. Instead, they are passionately making a mess and shrieking "We don't care who cleans up the mess, we are lollies and we are really BAD."
A Vegie Adventure offers a wealth of wisdom to children in a manner that they can understand. Erlich uses characters that children can relate to, thus instilling the idea that vegetables should take precedence before chocolates and candies.
While the characters are innovative and intriguing, the illustrations are the ideal complement, particularly for children just learning to read, or English Language Learners struggling to grasp the language. Artie Erlich's A Vegie Adventure essentially fuses crucial programs such as Response to Intervention—emphasizing the importance of early literacy—and health education programs to address the glaring obesity statistics in the United States.