The Red Lemon

The Red Lemon by Bob Staake 2006

Farmer McPhee is ecstatic the lemon trees are ripe and ready for harvest.

"There's nothing like lemons.

This fruit isn't mellow.

They're tangy!

They're tasty!

They're tart-

and sooooooo

yellow!"

This chant by Farmer McPhee is followed by a list of delicacies all flavored by the yellow lemon. His pride turns to astonishment and then anger as he spots a red lemon among the yellow orbs. In a fit of disgust he grabs the red fruit and hurls it onto an island in the sea.

Little did he know that a bustling city would grow up around a grove of the red fruit that was "six times as sweet" as the yellow kind. The island had become a destination, and all because of Farmer McPhee and his good aim.

The world that Staake has created with his bold, dynamic illustrations is akin to that of Dr. Suess. His modern artwork has a graphic-arts feel, rendering objects and people as basic shapes.

Appropriate for ages 3-6

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