Try It!: How Frieda Caplan Changed the Way We Eat

by Mara Rockliff, Giselle Potter (Illustrator)

Meet fearless Frieda Caplan—the produce pioneer who changed the way Americans eat by introducing exciting new fruits and vegetables, from baby carrots to blood oranges to kiwis—in this brightly illustrated nonfiction picture book!

In 1956, Frieda Caplan started working at the Seventh Street Produce Market in Los Angeles. Instead of competing with the men in the business with their apples, potatoes, and tomatoes, Frieda thought, why not try something new? Staring with mushrooms, Frieda began introducing fresh and unusual foods to her customers—snap peas, seedless watermelon, mangos, and more!

This groundbreaking woman brought a whole world of delicious foods to the United States, forever changing the way we eat. Frieda Caplan was always willing to try something new—are you ?

Genres: Picture Books, Biography, Nonfiction, Food, Childrens, History, Juvenile

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2021

About the author

Mara Rockliff is the author of many well-loved books for children. Her newest picture book is All at Once Upon a Time, about which Booklist warns, "Be prepared for this amusing storytime selection to be requested over and over."

Among her best-known titles are Mesmerized: How Ben Franklin Solved a Mystery that Baffled All of France, winner of the Cook Prize and an Orbis Pictus Honor; Around America to Win the Vote: Two Suffragists, a Kitten, and 10,000 Miles, distributed to schools and libraries across the country by the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission; and Sweet Justice: Georgia Gilmore and the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which in 2023 received a Sibert Honor from the American Library Association.

Under the pen name Lewis B. Montgomery, she also wrote all twelve books in the popular Milo & Jazz Mysteries chapter book series, which has been translated into Spanish, French, Turkish, and Chinese.

Rockliff lives in Western Massachusetts. Visit her online at mararockliff.com.

Reviews

[Ms. B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did you know that seedless watermelons were introduced to Americans in the United States in 1962? And habanero peppers in 1990? Future foodies and chefs will love this story about Frieda Caplan who from the 1960s - 2010s changed the way United States citizens eat through the produce she introduced at the 7th St. Produce Market in Los Angeles.
For those who want to learn more about her, visit Frieda's Specialty Fruit, read her obituary, or view a documentary.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute story, a bit oddly framed. This could be a good picture book story for kids who are picky eaters or adventurous eaters. What I didn't like about it was that it was framed as Frieda being the reason people eat these foods, when many of them were common food to people already--just not white Americans. I wish it had been tweaked a little to show that this is the reason American supermarkets have these foods today and why the Americans who used to only eat potatoes and tomatoes started eating other foods. As it was it erased the cultures that these foods came from, which is still an ongoing problem with white people going abroad and saying that they've "discovered" foods that have been eaten by people for thousands of years.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did you know that this captivating, illustrated children’s book is based on a real person named Frieda Caplan?

Yes…

She really existed.

And…

Not only did she really exist…

But…

She was the first woman in the United State to own and operate a wholesale produce business.

Her ingenuity and creativity and sales initiative also had people trying fruits and vegetables no one would ever have thought to purchase…

EVER!

And…

That is what this colorfully, illustrated children’s book showcases.

Frieda at her best.

Getting people to try all types of fruits and vegetables that they would not normally eat.

And…

You know how hard it is to get kids to eat vegetables!

Well…

That is what makes this book perfect for kids! And parents!

Interest Level: Ages 3-8 years – Pre-school – 3rd grade

I would like to share that this is one of six books that I won as part of the Little Free Library organization partnership with Simon & Schuster food-themed picture book bundle.

I am excited to include this beautifully illustrated book in my Little Free Library Shed and appreciate this gift to our neighborhood.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glad to read this book, though it wasn't quite as good as I hoped it would be. I love books that spotlight pioneering women and I also love books that celebrate food and encourage children (or anyone!) to be curious and brave in trying new foods. So, Frieda Caplan's story is very appealing to me. However, the overall production was a bit lackluster for me. While I feel the story succeeded in explaining that Caplan introduced many "new" fruits and vegetables to the American public, and showed what many of those foods were, it didn't really show HOW she did that. I wanted much more about that in the story proper. How did she get all those "exotic" foods and how did she get people to listen to her? For example, I found it too simplistic to say that she worked at a produce market, then got the idea for people to try new foods, and started selling them so widely they were in restaurants, grocery stores, farmers markets, etc. She started with mushrooms and sold so many people called her the Mushroom Queen. She made kiwifruit famous in America. How did she first hear about kiwifruit, how did she get it, how did she make it widely known? I want more details! The back matter presents more information, but it still felt too cursory. There is a note on the sources, which includes mostly newspaper and magazine articles, and interview with her daughter Karen Caplan, current president and CEO of Frieda's Inc. Unfortunately, the illustration style is not aesthetically pleasing to me. So, I can only give this three stars, though I do still recommend checking it out if you have some picky eaters in your family or are really interested in different types of produce or pioneering women (Frieda was the first woman in the United States to operate a wholesale produce business). ETA: I've learned there is a documentary about her, "Fear No Fruit" -- here is the link to the trailer, fun to see her in action: http://fearnofruit.com/

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned a lot reading this book about a woman who had the courage to try new things and to encourage others to do so as well. Frieda Caplan worked in the produce industry. When she first started most of what was sold was the well-known stuff such as potatoes, apples, oranges, etc. When she decided to introduce mushrooms, people (men) were shocked. But she persisted and over time people started to try the different kinds of produce that she started selling. Her instincts were excellent and eventually people started to come to her for advice about what to buy or sell. She started her own business and brought her daughters into the fold. The business continues to this day. Rockliff does a fine job of showing how Caplan helped to change what people eat. Potter's illustrations do a great job of showing not only the different foods that Caplan worked to promote but how things changed over time, including clothing and hairstyles. This gives the reader a sense that while things changed they didn't necessarily change overnight. A fine picture book biography about a lesser known individual who made a difference in the world.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This will be a good one to share around the topic of fruits and veggies - I only wish this book spoke more to the cultures that would regularly eat these fruits and vegetables, and how Frieda came to learn about them.

I know this is a biography, so I'm being critical when I think about it being used as an informational tool about fruits and vegetables from around the world. It feels a little like this book portrays Frieda as "inventing" these foods, and reading between the lines there is a touch of colonialism, like she gave Americans permission (as a white, American woman in the 1960s) to try non-European staple fruits and veggies. A very American-centric view of "exotic" (hate that word) fruits and vegetables.

[Hannah]

Pretty amazing achievement to manage to take someone genuinely worth celebrating but turn it from a story about encouraging people to eat food outside of their personal repertoire into a story about how only this one white woman could convince the unwashed masses to eat "weird" food when nonwhite people had actually been eating it all along. Boooo, hissssss.

Also, there's no such thing as a nopale, it's a nopal.

[Jessi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes on my tiktok feed, I will have a day where there are multiple posts with the same recipe. Recently it was a cucumber salad. I had first seen the recipe posted by the Asian content creators I follow, sharing about how they used to eat this dish with their families, how the recipe was shared from their grandparents, etc. Very cool. Then there would be one day where non-white content creators would absolutely drag some random white person who posted a reaction video to one of these recipes, talking about how "weird" and "disgusting" it was. A few days later, all the stay at home moms and health gurus that sneak into my feed- all white, were sharing the recipe, saying they just came across it, with a lot more views (and revenue) giving absolutely no credit to the culture they took it from. We all know this happens all the time, but it's been interesting to see this culinary appropriation in real time, condensed over about a week.
I couldn't help but think of this as I read this book. In the 1950s and 60s, this (white) lady named Frieda built quite a business encouraging people to try new foods. I mean, they weren't "new," they just weren't popular in America. She is described as adventurous and it's honestly very cool that she's at least partially responsible for the fact that I have so many options for produce in my grocery store. But while the author takes time to list and describe so many of these fruits and vegetables, and the appalled reactions the (white) people around Frieda had to them, would it really have been hard to say "of course millions of people ate this every day in such and such country?" There is so much text spent on the uneducated talking about how disgusting and scary they thing these foods are before Frieda convinces them to try them. It wouldn't have hurt to at least mention that while Frieda helped introduce these foods to the US, she didn't exactly discover them out in the wild. She took the time to try something *from another culture* and tell everyone how awesome it was. This is not a flaw with Frieda's character, but with the writing and how the story is presented to us. I found it irritating. It made me think of books that describe white settlers as "discovering" North America when there were plenty of people who were already here. Becoming aware of something and telling other people about it when there are literally other humans already participating in it is not really "discovering," and it wouldn't hurt to give a shout out to the people who already knew about the thing (whether it be an entire landmass or a piece of fruit) for thousands and thousands of years.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a strange book for me since I’m notorious among my friends for being unwilling to try new foods. However, it was interesting, particularly the afterword. It does explain to me why there seems to be so many strange veggies and fruits now: a lot got introduced by Frieda and her eponymous family company relatively recently! This book has good illustrations and I certainly would hand it to a family with a picky eater. I wish a bit more information had been included though. The dates of when various foods were introduced was particularly well done. I must say I don’t feel an overwhelming urge to run out and try new foods, especially not durian! Recommended.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

food, biography, Sibert 2022?

[Tonja Drecker · Rating 4 out of 5]

The love for food in all of its wonderous variety (while sticking to veggies and fruits) parades right along with the tale of a woman, who changed the way we view eating.

Frieda Caplan was born in the 1920's, and when she grew up, worked at the Seventh Street Produce Market in LA. There, she noticed everyone sold the same things—potatoes, tomatoes, onions, bananas, apples... but that was about it. It wasn't exactly exciting or packed with variety, which she found sad, since she loved trying new foods. Realizing that others might like to try different veggies and fruits, too, she started her own company and centered on offering things others hadn't tried and sold them. Thanks to her, the variety at the market expanded and changed how we eat today.

I'd never heard of Frieda Caplan. So, this book definitely opened my eyes on that end. For young listeners/readers, this one might have been a bit hard to tackle because Frieda does open a business on a food market. But the author does a very good job at making it interesting, while also sliding in information about marketing and such along the side with extreme subtlety. Readers/listeners learn not only about Frieda but get a first glance into business and how steering away from the conventional works.

While this book does cover Frieda Caplan, it also hits upon the wondrous variety of fruits and vegetables found in the world. Each page illustrates known, little known and hardly known...if not completely unknown...foods. These are brightly shown, recognizable, and will wake interest and curiosity. The excitement for daring to try new tastes and textures is also clear and a bit contagious.

This one works as a read-aloud and definitely can be used to introduce listeners not only to a little known woman in history and the beginnings of business, but will work great to open kids up to the variety of fruits and vegetables available.

I received an ARC and found it very well done.

[Nathalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

We can thank Frieda Caplan for the variety of fruits and vegetables we eat! In 1956, Frieda entered a new world as the first and only salesWOMAN in a Los Angeles produce market. She was not afraid to try new produce and even developed a reputation for it. She eventually owned and operated her own successful wholesale produce business. When given the award of "Produce MAN of the year", she handed right back and was given the newly named "Produce MARKETER of the year!". She is a wonderful example of can-do spirit -- a true American success story!

[Ben Truong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Try It!: How Frieda Caplan Changed the Way We Eat is a children's picture book written by Mara Rockliff and illustrated by Giselle Potter. In centers on the quest of Frieda Caplan: to introduce new fruits and vegetables to the North American market that few were willing to sell.

Frieda Rapoport Caplan was an American businesswoman who was the founder of Frieda's Inc., a specialty produce company in Los Alamitos, California. She created the specialty produce industry in the United States and revolutionized the fresh produce industry.

Rockliff's text is rather simplistic, straightforward, and informative. Rockliff takes note of the ways Caplan distinguished her offerings: clear labeling, customer education, and more. Backmatter includes an author's note and bibliography. Potter brings out the vivid colors of tropical fruits, and her market scenes give the spreads a sense of abundance.

The premise of the book is rather straightforward. Faced with a sea of predictable produce, Frieda Caplan wanted to try selling something more exotic, but none were willing to sell them. However, Caplan trusted her intuition, starting her own produce company in 1962 and started to do so. Caplan made a significant mark, becoming a successful business owner in a field that did not welcome women. Over time, produce such as mushrooms, black radishes, blood oranges, jicama, kiwifruit, sugar snap peas, and more became commonplace and Caplan championed as she led a quiet revolution in U.S. eating habits.

All in all, Try It!: How Frieda Caplan Changed the Way We Eat is a delectable delight daring readers to embrace new and unusual edible produce.

[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Frieda Caplan started working at the Seventh Street produce market in Los Angeles, there were only potatoes, bananas, tomatoes and apples for sale. Caplan thought it might be work giving something new a try. So she started selling mushrooms. Soon she was known as the Mushroom Queen and had her own stall at the market. She became known as a person who would taste anything and started selling kiwis, jicama, blood oranges, Asian pears and much more. Over the years she introduced consumers to many new things, including seedless watermelons in 1962, horned melon in 1984, and fresh lychee in 2015. Caplan’s daughters now work with her in her produce stall, introducing finds of their own and offering their unique and informed view of what the next big thing might be.

Rockliff offers a dynamic look at the woman who changed how America eats fruits and vegetables. Her fearless approach to trying new things combined with a deep instinct about what will work for the market. Beautifully, the book focuses on Caplan herself but also richly shows the things that she introduced to American stores. Readers are sure to find new fruits and vegetables on the pages here, and perhaps be brave enough to try then when they make their way to supermarkets across the country.

Potter’s illustrations are richly colored and warm. They show Caplan in the 1950s when she started and then steadily move forward in time, nicely showing the time period through the clothing of the people. The fruits and vegetables are rainbow bright and nicely labeled with their name and the year that Caplan discovered them for the U.S. market.

Bright, intelligent and full of juicy details. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

[Thompson McLeod · Rating 5 out of 5]

We should all thank Frieda Caplan, the lone woman working in produce in 1956 in Los Angeles, California. All the other produce sellers were men and they offered the same, boring produce for sale: potatoes, apples, tomatoes. All those are tasty and great but Frieda tried everything. She began by selling mushrooms. She became so good at it, she was known as the Mushroom Queen. She introduced kiwifruit, jicama, seedless watermelons, Asian pears and many more new fruits and vegetables to our palates and PLATES.

In 1956 when she started selling produce, the average grocery store only carried around sixty-five produce items. Today, over eight hundred items are found in the supermarket. From Buddha's hand to starfruit to alfalfa sprouts, we can look to Frieda Caplan as the reason we know and love these foods today. Quite the rabble rouser, when Frieda was honored in 1979 as "Produce MAN of the Year," she handed the award back to the presenters. After that, a new title was given to this honor: Produce Marketer of the Year which she then accepted.

In 2020, Frieda died at age ninety-six after enjoying "...a long and FRUITful life," the book notes. A page of notes about Frieda follow the story complete with a list of sources.

A loving tribute to an outstanding pioneer in nutrition and a strong market expert, Frieda Caplan is presented by the author and illustrator in this easy to understand, yet entertaining book about a little known female figure in history.

Highly recommended!

[Richie Partington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richie’s Picks: TRY IT! HOW FRIEDA CAPLAN CHANGED THE WAY WE EAT by Mara Rockliff and Giselle Potter, Simon & Schuster/Beach Lane, January 2021, 32p., ISBN: 978-1-5344-6007-2

“Call any vegetable
Call it by name
Call one today
When you get off the train
Call any vegetable
And the chances are good
That the vegetable will respond to you”
-- Frank Zappa (1967)

TRY IT! is the story of innovative business woman Frieda Caplan who went to work as a bookkeeper at a produce company in LA in 1956. Six years later, she had her own produce business at the big Los Angeles wholesale market. She constantly encouraged her customers to try all sorts of produce not regularly seen in the market. As a result, she’s responsible for popularizing scores of products that were previously unknown to most Americans.

Products she made popular include mushrooms, kiwifruit, Jicama, sugar snap peas, Asian pears, seedless watermelons, Habanero peppers, spaghetti squash, and so many others.

I love the vibrant illustrations by Giselle Potter. Her watercolor illustrations have a recognizable, distinct style.

When schools return to normal, this book begs to be read in the classroom, accompanied by a tasting of some of the illustrated fruits and vegetables.

Try it!

Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com
https://www.facebook.com/richiespicks/
https://twitter.com/richiespicks
richiepartington@gmail.com

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Watercolor illustrations depicting some yummy and unique produce choices support the story of a little-known pioneer in wholesale produce. Not only was Frieda Caplan, the subject of this biography, the first woman to own and run a wholesale produce business, but she was open to experimentation and trying new foods. Because of her willingness to taste and sell produce that wasn't just the same old fruits and vegetables that everyone had while providing a sticker to identify the food and recipes, supermarkets began to stock a wider variety of produce, thus, Frieda can be credited with changing the way Americans eat. I laughed at the many images of Frieda trying and loving various foods, all except the smelly durian. It seems that sometimes unusual colors or sizes put some folks off from trying new foods, but with an open mind, taste buds can be tantalized with new food choices. The back matter includes additional information on Frieda and portraits of her daughters. It's neat to know who to credit for the wider selection of choices when going to market these days although I'll always love my oranges, apples, and potatoes. I did wonder briefly about the lack of commentary on food deserts and how shipping these more exotic foods is costly and not very eco-friendly.

[Paula · Rating 2 out of 5]

Watercolor illustrations accompany this unique picture book proclaiming it is about a woman who changed the way people ate. Frieda Caplan was a business woman from California who is portrayed as someone who sold different kinds of foods on an outdoor market. During the time she started selling produce, the market was a place for men who only sold potatoes, tomatoes, apples, and bananas. Frieda introduced mushrooms and after they caught on she started her own business selling kiwis, sugar snap peas, jicamas and more. The author depicts her as a person who had a unique taste, but her biographies say that she was known more for her business instincts than her dietary choices.
The last spread has a biography of the true events in Frieda Caplan’s life and illustrations of her daughters, and granddaughter who became part of her business.
It is a shame the story is not more true to Frieda’s calling as a business woman in a man’s world but could be used in a compare and contrast assignment. In addition, it’s not a topic students will independently pick up and might not be the best fit in a classroom or school library.
AD-
Kindergarten through 3rd grade
Oral

[Ellee Nichols · Rating 3 out of 5]

Copyright date: 2021
Star rating: 3
Award: N/A
Genre: Nonfiction
Summary w/ themes: This book is about a woman in America who was able to make certain fruits and vegetables more popular among the American People. It talks about how back in the 50's and 60's most produce were things like potatoes, tomatoes, and apples, and how Frieda got people interested in foods like kiwi and dragon fruit. This book has themes of food and trying something new.
Use for future classroom: This could be a good book to talk about different types of fruit and vegetables, and could be used for a read aloud in a nutrition unit.
Thoughts of book: I thought this book was pretty good. I think it is interesting because I didn't realize that some of the foods I eat today weren't common 70 years ago. I wish that the book would talk more about where these foods came from and how people from different cultures where the food comes from consume them.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine a world where people didn't buy Kiwifruit, blood oranges, mushrooms, baby carrots, or any array of "strange" or "bizarre" produce. It wasn't so long ago that we lived in such a world.
However,
thanks to the curiosity and passion for sharing of foods, Frieda Caplan, as a California-based produce manager, took American produce to new levels.
Starting with mushrooms (gasp), and sharing and encouraging sales of produce from all over, some good, some strange and even some that Frieda herself did not like.
As someone who loves food, I appreciate Frieda Caplan's efforts, who from the 1950's, began to bring in a new wave of good foods. Her family legacy is still carried on today, by the women of her family.

One of my favorite interesting tidbits about Frieda was that she wasn't a cook at all.

A very enjoyable, reads-like-fiction, account of one incredible woman (cue Chef Kiss)

[Calista · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frieda Caplan help introduce all sorts of new foods to American since 1962. Apparently, people didn't mushrooms much until she got them into the country. I can't imagine. Frieda wasa food distributor and so she would introduce all these things to us. She brought in Kiwi fruit and purple potatoes and purple asparagus.

I never really thought about it, but her job was finding new foods. Spaghetti Squash was all her. What a silent influence on people. It's quite amazing. Picture books bring so much to light. It's amazing.

The artwork is watercolor. I thought the artwork was sort of rough. Maybe, it's the watercolor. It's hard to be as precise with watercolor and the people get fuzzy looking.

I think kids interested in food with enjoy this little book. It goes down easy.

[Jessie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This makes me want to know so much more about Caplan! This is such an interesting way to influence US culture at large.

I didn't feel like I actually got more than the broad strokes from the book. Neither the main text nor the endnotes really address how she came upon new-to-her produce (it's portrayed as connections with other salespeople, which makes sense, but still feels like there's some story missing), how she chose what to introduce, and how she built such wide influence.

The "we" here is also very much USians, and I think that's part of what I want to know more about, too; lots of the foods mentioned here have been eaten elsewhere for a lot longer! So what were Caplan's connections to those kinds of imports or relevant immigrant communities?

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

With a dash of food puns and loads of colorful illustrations, this PB bio introduces kids to the women who diversified our plates, bringing mushrooms, kiwifruit, and other previously unknown produce to the mainstream. (I'm a big kiwifruit fan, so thanks, Frieda! There were several other fruits and veggies I didn't know, so this whet my appetite to try those.) The text is peppered with alliteration and a few other literary devices but doesn't try too hard or get overly silly, so I think food-loving kids will devour Frieda's story.

Review based on a digital ARC received via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do you know why we can easily buy a kiwi fruit any time we shop? What about a seedless watermelon? Or sugar snap peas? When I was growing up, these weren’t in the grocery store, but now they are thanks to Freida Caplan’s enthusiasm for introducing countless new fruits and vegetables from around the world to the American market. This picture book biography introduces us to the woman who made all of these fruits and vegetables commonplace foods in our lives. It’s full of fun sentences and some great alliterations that make it a fun read aloud. It’s a perfect book to introduce a unit on nutrition or biographies, and is one that needs to be in every elementary library.

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picture book biography. This book tells the story of Frieda Caplan, who introduced several new fruits and vegetables to the US market. She worked in a farmer's market in Los Angeles before starting her own produce wholesale company. Her claim to fame is the kiwi fruit from New Zealand. I love the topic, and hope to watch the documentary on her mentioned in the back matter. However, the book seemed a bit lacking. While it showed Frieda at the market, her role there was unclear. The market was only identified by the local name, and only in the back matter does the reader find out that it is LA. The illustrations were lovely of all the colorful produce.

[Erin Buhr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frieda Caplan was the ultimate adventurous eater. Working at the Seventh Street Produce Market in LA in the 1950s, Frieda thought customers should be offered new and interesting foods to try like mushrooms, snap peas and kiwi. She later went on to found a specialty produce company, becoming the first woman to do so in the US. If you've ever eaten a kiwi, you likely have her to thank. This book shares her adventurous spirit and willingness to try something new. Hopefully it will encourage readers to grab something new the next time they're at the farmers' market or grocery store.

[Annamarie Carlson (she, her)]

A picture book biography of Frieda Caplan, a produce salesperson in Los Angeles who preferred to sell more unique foods than the standard apples and bananas, including mushrooms, kiwi fruit, and a variety of plants from around the globe.

Could work well in a program where kids try some of the unique foods highlighted in this book, though I would try to pair it with a lesson or additional books about where those foods came from--the history of these foods are never really mentioned beyond Frieda's "discovery" of them.

[FM Family · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good one from the memoir pile, someone I hadn't heard about before. I think it worked well to inspire curiosity in kids about all the different foods and what they might taste like. I actually only read it to my 4.5 year old once, but was around when other grownups were reading it and both times even they were learning about new and interesting fruits and veg they hadn't heard of before. My kid seemed to enjoy the book fairly well, and her friend who is a bit pickier about food liked it too. So worth a read!

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first heard about Frieda Caplan on the Sunday Morning Show. Interesting story about how she was prominent in the produce industry for introducing many to new and exotic fruits and veggies from around the world when the majority of people were only trying things like apples, bananas, potatoes, tomatoes.

This would be great to supplement with a taste test of unique produce that most kids have never tried.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It mentioned a lot of fruits and food I still haven't tried or even heard of! I'm glad there was Frieda who introduced us to so many interesting foods. Otherwise we might still be eating the regular potatoes and whatever else was very common that the book mentioned. The art is not my style, but it works for this book. Great colors though!