Nothing Rhymes with Orange

If nothing rhymes with orange, then Adam Rex finds rhymes to go with just about every other fruit you can think of, as more and more of them, all with sketched on faces and spindly arms and legs, gather for an increasingly riotous party. As the page gets more and more crowded and the rhymes get crazier and crazier (and what is Friedrich Nietzsche doing here?) billy-no-mates Orange loiters in the corner wondering if he is ever going to be invited to join the fun, especially when even kumquats and currants are allowed in. Cue a blank double page spread with Orange looking glum and rejected on the right. But the other fruit “are feeling rotten, ‘cause there’s someone they’ve forgotten.” And, hooray, here comes apple on the right, followed by everyone else to reassure Orange that, really, he’s Smorange, which means totally awesome in every way. So, at last, all the fruit can celebrate their fruitiness together. The brilliantly bonkers rhymes get steadily madder. A rousing fruity chorus – “FRUIT, they’re healthy, happy, colourful, and cute”, occasionally bursts out. And there’s an expertly characterised cast, including the frustrated Orange, at turns exasperated by the rhymes or, despite himself, in awe of their inventiveness. It’s hilarious, it promotes healthy eating (although feeding a cantaloupe to an antelope is probably not a good idea) and it will have young readers joining in with the party mood, feeling sad for Orange on the side-lines, and finally rejoicing at his inclusion.