AR: 3.0

It was the passing attention of my 5 year old son and friend that sold me on this book. I was sitting at the counter sorta kinda skimming through when they walked behind me and stopped in their tracks to ask "Who is that?" "Oh, um, Friedrich Nietzsche."
Now do I have YOUR attention?
Written in rhyme, author-illustrator Adam Rex showcases fruit from the common (pears) to unusual (quince) sneakily teaching kids how to pronounce unusual names. This is where Nietzsche comes in because on a two page spread with cherries, berries, a peach and a lychee the text reads "I think cherries are 'the berries' and a lychee is just peachy. Thus Spoke Zarathustra is a book by Friedrich Nietzsche." Now every child in America is ready for Philosophy 101 and confidently ask for a lychee at the market. Reading this book with two young children opened my eyes to the delight of a spectacle because the artwork and poetry does "go a little off the rails"---even the book admits it.

picture book (esp. for older kids or precocious readers, possible readaloud for highschoolers?)
several librarians have reported success with this one, but after my second read-through I still have trouble imagining pulling off the delivery. Singing the main text plus a distinct voice for Orange's asides would help, and definitely significant practice is needed (knowing that "Niezche" is going to rhyme with "peachy" will change the way you meter your phrasing), but even so I think it'd be pretty tricky.
If you can pull it off, this would make an awesome performance piece to a crowd of older kids or teens, but otherwise I'd stick to one-on-one sharings. ( )

Adam Rex offers a humorous unique twist on a rhyming book, with everything out of the ordinary. This book is full of different fruit and things that rhyme with them in sometimes outrageously funny scenarios. The author even brings in characters that aren't remotely as interesting as orange, even a human, and orange is feeling left out on almost every page. Orange knows nothing rhymes with orange and he pretty much sits on the sidelines watching everyone but him be a part of this awesome book. Finally, orange is included at the end because he is "smorange" which ultimately means he is awesome. This book would be engaging in a poetry unit that also teaches about differences and how regardless of how different someone is, they should always be included. ( )

Just as the title says, nothing rhymes with orange. Several fruits are mentioned, and each fruit has its own rhyme. Orange is never wanted and always feels left out. He wants to be included so badly. Finally, he is happy after the fruits come up with a rhyme for him. They say the rhyming word is "smorange," which means "totally awesome in every way."

This story gets four stars from me because it is so interesting to read. I liked the mixture of different art mediums and styles. This illustrative choice is so unique and fun! The fruits looks very realistic, and the colors pop. It's very easy to understand the orange in this book because as human beings, we want to be included. We want to feel special and wanted in this life since we are, by nature, social beings. ( )