The Smelly Sprout
Thrown out into the snow on Christmas day, the smelly sprout comes up against a terribly rude Christmas tree, an awfully impolite snowman and, worst of all…a greedy fox. But will a chance encounter with someone as small as the sprout change everything?
This is a witty story, perfect for any child who doesn’t like our Christmas season’s favourite vegetable! And even for those who do! The poor sprout is dismissed from everywhere he tries to find a home. All he really wants is to be loved, but no-one wants him.
This is written with sly humour and appeals to adults too. There is a great little set of repetitive lines that children enjoy joining in with and it all finishes with a sweet happy ending.
The illustrations are done in a kind of cartoon style, they don’t all appeal to me, but my children seem quite happy with them. I do like the one on the last page, but it will spoil the end of the story to tell you what it is.
I have heard some objections to the story on the basis that nobody wants to eat the sprout, so if this is something you are concerned about it may not be for you. In our house I don’t think it has any effect on my children’s desire to eat sprouts, or not eat them. We just enjoy the story.
Verdict: A good fun read for Christmas, and something a bit different for a child’s picture book.
Reviewed by Helen