A hilariously absurd and philosophical picture book for 3-to-7-year-olds about a pickle slowly withering in the sun, sharing its hard-earned wisdom with the local animal population and preparing to be eaten by a dog (its preferred way to go). For fans of I Want My Hat Back and The Skunk.
A pickle arrives out of nowhere.
"I have lived a lot of life," it says.
As the pickle slowly withers in the hot sun, the local animals ask it questions. Questions like "Do you ever get bored?" and "Are you hungry?" and "Why are we here?"
The pickle has all the answers.
Except one: what happens next?
A truly weird and wonderful book, The Wise Pickle will charm readers big and small with its combination of subtle humor, pathos and ridiculousness, all perfectly captured in Sabina Hahn's delightful illustrations.---from the publisher
48 pages 978-1774886984 Ages 4-8
Keywords: pickles, deadpan humor, death and dying, mortality, animals, helping others, 4 year old, 5 year old, 6 year old, 7 year old, 8 year old, parable, metaphor, growing old, lifespan
******
I am shocked at the 3-star reviews — I mean, it's an *award winner! — so I felt compelled to say something because this is a five-star-er for me, and one of those titles I'm dying to read to littles because I know their comments/questions are going to be brilliant. It takes a five-year-old to really get the wisdom of pickles.
Beyond creating brilliant parallels between a shriveling pickle and humans in their end-of-life (am I the only one who sees this?), Sarah Howden's wry, weird writing and Sabina Hahn's deadpan illustrations remind us that life is absurd, and brined vegetables are wise.---from Victoria Sanchez, the author
