Best of all, no fruits or veggies were harmed in the making of this book.

Tamar loved it! And illustrator Anna Sussbauer’s eye-popping colors and vibrant textures bring the story to life. And the social-emotional themes of developing self-awareness, discovering what’s inside us that makes us special, and uplifting our friends struck a chord. Many of the funny puns remain from the earlier version, but only the ones that serve the story. Avocado discovers that she was special all along.

Garlic suggests she add some zing! Nothing seems to work until-Ding ding!-the bright and shiny Toaster inspires Avocado to “reflect” more deeply. Strolling through the aisles, Avocado asks her veggie friends what makes her stand out. This new story is about an avocado at the Farmers’ Market who wants to be Today’s Special. I thought about my favorite trips to the Farmers’ Market with my critique partner Donna Cangelosi And voila! BRAVO, AVOCADO was born. I brainstormed new settings and situations for my little green character. (I sometimes like to go dark.) Luckily, Tamar was willing to give me another shot!īy then spring had sprung.

Would kids connect to the bland/blend theme? And the marketing team was dead set against eating the protagonist at the end. To top off this work of genius, I included a recipe for guacamole in the backmatter.Įditor Tamar Mays at HarperCollins liked my writing, but the story? Not so much. When the veggies who rejected her want to join the fun, Avocado says, “We might seem bland, but…WE CAN BLEND!” But then Avocado pulls herself together and decides to meet up with other bland friends. Avocado sheds lots of tears (well, Onion is nearby). No wonder Avocado had a pit in her stomach! Garlic, who never minces words, suggests that Avocado is bland. I wrote several drafts about an avocado who wants to make friends with other fruits and veggies.

That last one got me thinking: Was Avocado anxious? And if so, why? In my feverish state, I grabbed a notebook and started brainstorming avocado puns: Holy guacamole. In the meantime, I received an email from my awesome agent, Miranda Paul at Erin Murphy Literary, asking if I had a manuscript about an avocado. In retrospect, the timing was right for a mysterious early case of Covid, but we’ll never know. Back in February 2020, I was sick in bed with a bad cough.

Animal Zombies! by Chana Stiefel