June 29, 1999

June 29, 1999 by David Wiesner
1995

     On May 11, 1999, "after months of careful research and planing, Holly Evans launches vegetable seedlings into the sky."  A month later, on June 29, 1999 strange things start happening: a hiker in Montana discovers gigantic turnips flying through the sky, a broccoli the size of a house lands in Holly Evans's backyard, and all over the country, the skies fill with humongous vegetables.  At first Holly thought it was all because of her experiment, but when she sees in the news that some of the vegetables covering the land are not the kinds she planted, she has no idea what to think. "More curious than disappointed, Holly asks herself, "What happened to my vegetables?"  That's when we learn that out in space, the Arcturian starcruiser has had a little malfunction and their entire food supply has been jettisoned.  What will they eat now? Thankfully, Holly's vegetables are on their way.
     David Weisners quirky picture book is quite entertaining.  His illustrations are gorgeous and tell as much or more of the story than the text.  Readers, old and young alike, will have a blast looking at the pictures and imagining a world where peas the size of boats float down the Mississippi River.