Nothing Rhymes with Orange

There are all kinds of fruit out there, and rhymes can be found for most of their names. When all the fruits get together and parade around singing a rhyming song, one fruit is left out. There is no rhyme for Orange. Never has been. Never will be. Orange hangs around trying to make his case for inclusion, pointing out how some of the rhymes are forced and others are pretty silly. And how many picture books even mention Friedrich Neitzsche or his book Thus Spoke Zarathustra, let alone give Neitzsche two-and-a-half spreads? (Even though nothing rhymes with orange, there are fruits that rhyme with Neitzsche.) Try as he might, Orange just can’t get in on the fruit parade until Apple notices. Then things change.

Author and illustrator Adam Rex has a wicked sense of humor and a sharp sense of what makes kids laugh. The text is so smart and will elicit gales of giggles from the little ones while the parents reading will have a hard time not laughing out loud. The wonderful detail-filled illustrations are just as funny as the text. This is a real winner.