Product Description

The lively imagination of Caldecott medalist David Wiesner forecasts astounding goings-on for a Tuesday in the not too distant future -- an occurrence of gigantic vegetal proportions.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #81638 in Books
• Published on: 1995-09-18
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 32 pages

Amazon.com Review
If you liked David Wiesner's surrealistic 1992 Caldecott Medalist Tuesday, then June 29, 1999 will send your spirits soaring like a frog on a flying lily pad. This wacky Wiesner creation chronicles an astonishing cross-country phenomenon on June 29, 1999. About a month earlier, on May 11, 1999, young Holly Evans launches vegetable seedlings into the sky from her home in Ho-ho-kus, New Jersey--on seed flats with Acme weather balloons. She expects the plants to stay aloft for a few weeks, allowing her to study the effects of extraterrestrial conditions on their growth and development.

On June 29, 1999, curious things start to happen all over America. A hiker in Montana finds giant turnips in the Rocky Mountains. "Cucumbers circle Kalamazoo. Lima beans loom over Levittown. Artichokes advance on Anchorage." TV news channels announce that arugula has covered Ashtabula, which puzzles Holly, because arugula is not part of her experiment. In fact, she is forced to conclude that none of the enlarged specimen sightings are a result of her initial seedling launch. Where did the giant vegetables come from then? Wiesner waits until the last pages to deliver the punch line. Throughout the book, his visual humor interplays perfectly with the sophisticated though minimal text. (A Mount Rushmore-like scene reveals the faces of Reagan, Bush, Nixon, and Carter carved out of giant potatoes with the caption "Potatoland is wisely abandoned.") This beautifully composed ode to absurdity makes us all wish we really could see parsnips over Providence. Awards and other recognition: 1993 ALA Notable Book, School Library Journal Best Books of 1992, Fanfare 1993: Horn Book's Outstanding Books of the Year, Publishers Weekly 50 Best Books of 1992, New York Times Notable Books of the Year 1992. (Ages 5 and older) --Karin Snelson

From Publishers Weekly
PW's boxed review found this quirky picture book from the Caldecott Medalist "spectacular to look at, great fun to read [and] executed with consumate skill." Ages 5-up.
- executed with consumate skill." Ages 5-up.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3-- As in the mysterious goings-on of that particular Tuesday (Clarion, 1991) not long ago, Wiesner again takes off on a flight of fantasy, this time set in the not-too-distant future. This sci-fi adventure begins with Holly Evans, a visionary third grader who launches some seedlings into the ionosphere as part of a science experiment. And so the fun begins. Cabbages fill the sky in one part of the country, turnips in another. ``Lima beans loom over Levittown.'' ``Parsnips pass by Providence.'' Yankee ingenuity reigns supreme as the mammoth veggies are put to some rather creative uses. Of course, there's an extraterrestial twist to this healthful tale and the true fate of Holly's project is at last revealed. The exquisite watercolors are truly out of this world. The three-quarter page paintings utilize unusual perspective and are filled with clever detail. The photorealistic quality of the figures and background vistas only underscores the absurdity of the gigantic airborne produce and accentuates the deadpan humor. By all accounts, June 29, 1999 is a date to remember. --Luann Toth, School Library Journal
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Science projects falling from the sky?
By April, most of the children in my kindergarten knew that they had learned absolutely everything about David Wiesner's "Tuesday". I surprised them one Tuesday, with this book, and let them know it was by the same author. "Will there be frogs?" the children clamored. We shared the book, and with growing excitement some of the children exclaimed as we turned the page and I read the date, "That's your birthday! Did Mr. David, the author know that? Did he put it there 'cuz he knows you love frogs and his Tuesday book?"
I must confess, I do not know how the author chose that date to evaluate plants.
This book was a hit in my classroom, a treasured favorite, even though it was a bit beyond K level scientific data collections. We planted seeds, and of course, the children adored the ending, which i shall not give away. We did many extension activities such as veggie trays and a big salad day. Bring this book to your classroom, or your home, and celebrate an oft ignored part of the food pyramid.

Artichokes Advance on Anchorage.....
It all started in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey on May 11, 1999. Holly Evans launched her science experiment, flats of vegetable seedlings carried up into the ionosphere by weather balloons, to study "the effects of extra-terrestrial conditions on vegetable growth and development." Fast forward to June 29. All over the country, enormous vegetables are seen floating to earth. "Cucumbers circle Kalamazoo. Lima bearns loom over Levittown. Artichokes advance on Anchorage. Parsnips pass by Providence. And broccoli lands with a big bounce in Holly Evans's backyard." But when "arugula covers Ashtabula" , Holly begins to wonder about this veggie phenomenon. Arugula was not a part of her experiment..... David Wiesner's makes June 29th an unforgettable day in his entertaining classic, and imaginations will soar with each delightful page turn. His minimal text, with its witty, dead-pan delivery, is filled with clever wordplay and alliteration. But it's Mr Wiesner's marvelous illustrations that really make this book stand out and sparkle, and youngsters will enjoy lingering over each outrageously detailed and humorous picture. With an inventive twist at the end to bring the whole story to its logical, though fantastic, conclusion, June 29, 1999 is a masterpiece you and your family don't want to miss.

Superb in creativity and imagination.
A beautiful science fiction story that is a superb springboard for an integrated unit. Teachers have used it from the graduate level courses to elementary school classes. Teachers & students wants to test Holly's science experiment for themselves to see if they can grow giant veggies!