Tomatoes on Trial

★ “The Supreme Court battle over the definition of a tomato plays out in a humorous children’s picture book which is most certainly guilty of being a remarkable read.”—Shelf Awareness, starred review

“With more puns than a tomato has seeds, this title will have young debaters ready to take on the challenge of ‘Fruit or Vegetable?’ Full of evidence and rebuttals, the book exposes readers to the arguments on both sides of the issue and by the end, they might find their opinions have changed. No matter the outcome, readers will have learned a great deal about legal reasoning and how to make a convincing argument. Fotheringham’s blotted line and color wash illustrations brim with humor and history, adding to the appeal of this engaging title. By the end, readers will be ripe and ready to make the case for the tomato’s classification one way or another, will have learned some interesting facts, and gained a basic understanding of how to build a logical, fact-based argument. This is a novel piece of nonfiction that is fully entertaining for older elementary students.”—School Library Journal

“Metcalf humorously introduces the legal process, describing the proceedings as a “food fight”—a showdown between lawyers on “team vegetable” (the defendants) and “team fruit” (the plaintiffs). Evidence and rebuttals abound, drolly illustrated by Fotheringham in blotted line and color wash… An entertaining, lucid look at the judicial process.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Chronicling a produce importer’s nineteenth-century lawsuit that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court—and that’s now freshly topical since the case hinged on recently imposed tariffs—Metcalf leverages an amusingly told historical ‘FOOD FIGHT!’ into a model for conducting formal debates of any sort… Fotheringham catches the tongue-in-cheek tone of the narrative with whimsical portraits of stiffly posed period contestants with bristly facial hair and cutaway views of produce thrown down as examples and counterexamples. Fruitful reading.”—Booklist

“Tomatoes on Trial is a nonfiction picture book about a pretty fascinating part of history of which I knew nothing prior to reading this book. I’ve always wondered if tomatoes are a fruit or a vegetable, but who knew that the debate went all the way to the Supreme Court!… The book is entertaining, informative, and a wonderful representation of how to make a convincing argument. The illustrations are colorful and imaginative, with large images of vegetables and fruit throughout and pops of tomato red on every page… Perfect for group read alouds and personal perusal. I love that the debate is not settled!… Must buy for all elementary school libraries and public libraries along with middle school libraries that read picture books aloud. This would be a fun way to showcase judicial processes. The story also feels especially relevant given how much tariffs have been in the news in the last year!”—Youth Services Book Review