The Lima Bean Monster

by Dan Yaccarino, Adam McCauley (Illustrator)

After Sammy's dumping of the lima beans he does not want to eat starts a neighborhood trend to put rejected vegetables in a hole on a vacant lot, a terrible lima bean monster rises to terrorize the town.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Monsters, Humor, Juvenile

Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Exhibitions of his work have been held throughout the world. He is also the creator of the animated TV Series Willa's Wild Life and Oswald.

Mr. Yaccarino lives in New York City with his wife and two children.

Reviews

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is OK - silly fun but not exactly original. The kid won't eat his veggies. He hides them and a lightning strike transforms them into a monster who threatens to destroy the town. The kids have to finally eat their veggies to save the world. It hits most of the cliches. I think my kids just liked it because it was gross.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very funny tale of what can happen when you try to hide the uneaten veggies that you hate. Sammy hates lima beans and his mother seems to serve nothing but them as she makes them in a huge variety of different dishes thinking one of them will change Sammy's dislike. Sammy also tries various methods to get rid on them finally digging a hole and depositing the uneaten beans. His friends like the idea and help by adding their uneaten veggies. And so the hole grows larger until one night lightning strikes and the uneaten lima beans turn into a Lima Bean monster. The Lima Bean Monster wants to eat HUMAN beans! Will they be able to defeat the monster before he eats all the people in Sammy's town? I love their solution, although I am not sure that I would have been able to do what they did. YECH! And I have never met a vegetable that I don't like.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I definitely felt sorry for Sammy in this story because of how often his mother forced him to eat lima beans for dinner (yekkk!) He gets clever and tries burying his lima beans fooling his mom into thinking he was actually eating them. The neighborhood kids join in and begin burying their not-so-favorite veggies (and other strange items) as well. Lightning strikes, not once but twice in the same spot!, and lo and behold a huge lima bean monster emerges from the ground and threatens to eat everyone. There's only one way to face this beast...and while it's pretty obvious, it still made my stomach turn when the kids decided to face their nightmare and "eat their vegetables". (double yeekkk!) lol. Fun story that pertains to basically every kid at some point in their life not wanting to eat something.

[Jenn Swanson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A child finds a way to get rid of his lima beans but unwelcome consequences happen because of it. The illustrations were interesting and overall the story was good. My daughter enjoyed it. Would recommend.

[Elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got a picky eater? This a funny read perfect for sharing with them!

[Hannah Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite storybooks! I love this book just because it is fun and enjoyable to read. Sammy is a young boy who does not want to eat his lima beans his mother makes. He instead would hide them in his socks and then dig a hole for them outside. This then becomes a popular idea for other kids in the neighborhood to put their unwanted food and items in this whole. One night a lima bean monster comes alive and the kids have to try to save their town from it. This book is humorous and just a fun book to read aloud to younger students. The illustrations are also pretty good and go right along with the words.

I decided to read this book aloud because I find it enjoyable and humorous for children of all ages! I think it is great with the illustrations and has a fun plot that's easy for children to follow.

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

The uneaten vegetables hidden by the neighborhood children create a monster.

[Courtney Weber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Personal Reaction:
This book made me laugh because it reminded me of all the foods I hated that my parents would try to force me to eat.I have never been a big meat or vegetable eater so my parent used to tell me that I had to sit at the table until I finished whatever it was I claimed that I would not be eating. I would usually cry and throw a fit until eventually I would sneak away and throw it in the trash without my parents noticing. It would usually result in my mom saying, "Now see that wasn't so bad, was it?" I would just laugh and agree and quickly run away before I got caught in a lie.

Purpose:
This would be a fun read-aloud for first graders. A lot of picky eaters are younger and I figure the book will be really easy for the kids to relate to. I only gave this book three stars, because there was not much educational value involved. However, I think it is good to read books every once in a while just for the heck of it. It is good to have silly story time every once in a while, I mean come on.. how fun would it be to read a story to your students about a lima bean monster. I can just imagine the looks on their faces.

[Monster]

Sammy hates lima beans. Meal after meal, his mother puts them on his plate, until he is forced to take extreme measures. He smuggles the lima beans out in his sock and dumps them in an abandoned lot. Other children in the neighborhood soon adopt his scheme and the pile of hated vegetables grows and grows. When the whole mess is hit by lightning, it comes to life as the Lima Bean Monster, looking to munch on some “human beans.” It looks like the only way for the kids to save the day is to eat their vegetables!

The Lima Bean Monster has potential, but somehow falls flat. The cartoony illustrations are fun and the colors will take readers back to cheesy 1970’s creature features. Unfortunately, Sammy is a bratty little kid, so it’s hard to sympathize with him, and it’s even more difficult to buy that a huge and hungry monster would stand still and let a bunch of kids nibble on him. A much better version of the “eat your vegetables” monster story is the witty The Monster Who Ate My Peas by Danny Schnitzlein.

Review by Francesca the Librarian

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This silly, eat-your-veggies tale is a lot of fun to read out load. Young Sammy despises lima beans, despite his mother's best efforts. After Sammy gets the great idea to burry his uneaten beans in a vacant lot down the block, things go horribly wrong. One violent storm and a few lightning strikes later, Sammy and his neighbors are faced with a giant monster made of lima beans, smelly socks, and other yucky things. In order to save the day, Sammy and his friends are faced with only one option, eat the monster until it's completely gone. Yaccarino's storytelling and McCauley's clever illustrations make this a laugh-out-loud treat that preschoolers are bound to love.

[Kate Puleo Unger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christopher almost made me stop reading because it was a little bit scary. The boy in the story doesn't like lima beans (actually, he's never tried them), and he hides them everywhere he can think of. Eventually they turn into a lima bean monster, and the children have to eat the monster to make it go away. Morbid, I know. But funny.

Ages 5-8

http://www.momsradius.com/2017/02/juv...

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun and silly story about a monster created by children's uneaten vegetables. Our girls loved this book, but they usually do pretty well eating their vegetables and I was a little wary about reading them a story about kids who don't.

[Erin]

I love this book! I would mostly recommend this book for the elementary grades. I have read this book many times, and could probably read it without even opening the pages. The story line is fantastic, funny, and the illustrations are great. Kids really seem to enjoy this book.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lima bean haters of the world unite!

[Katey · Rating 5 out of 5]

You better eat your vegetables or one day they might eat you!!

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zack loved this silly book!

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

36 months - read while visiting a library while placing a geocache. Strange story idea, a bit funny, better eat your veggies!!!

[tiasreads · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was pretty cute the first time around, but my nieces tired of it quickly. I was glad we checked it out of the library rather than buying it.

[Amelia Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book because it's funny. I like lima beans.

[Samantha wickedshizuku Tolleson · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story is passable as a valuable life lesson; I wasn't a fan of the art style though. Usually that shouldn't be a factor with me, but I couldn't get over the crude Ed, Edd, Eddie likeness.

[Jesus]

It was a good book because the kid threatened the mom it was funny

[The Book Box]

Mean beans and Dan Yaccarino - win win! This book was really funny.

[DrippyClouds. · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love this book so much...... throw back to second grade

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is AWESOME!