Review by ANITA MATTHEWS

HAYLEY'S VEGEMANIA GARDEN
By Mohana Gill
Illustrations: Tan Vay Fern
Publisher: MPH Group

The colourful and well illustrated Hayley’s Vegemania Garden follows the success of author Mohana Gill’s previous works on the joys of consuming fruits and vegetables. It was the bright yellow cover with a huge stalk of broccoli that drew me to the book. The end result is a hearty intellectual serve.

Gill had created the award-winning children's series to teach children about the goodness of eating vegetables and fruits. Her previous books are Hayley’s Fruitastic Garden, Fruitastic! Vegemania! and Buku Resipi Mudah untuk Kanak-kanak: Buah-buahan dan Sayur-Sayuran untuk Gaya Hidup Sihat.

In Vegemania Garden, Hayley takes off in search of a magical key that opens the door to the land filled with delicious and healthy vegetables. Accompanied by her cat Bonbon, her friend Zac and his dog, Ziggy plus Kiko the mouse, the group ventures into a dense forest only to encounter an assortment of animals seeking shelter from the rain.

Hayley, Zac and the motley crew of creatures seek refuge under a tree where they meet a talking rabbit. The rabbit whom they name Fluffy takes them to Vegemania.

As their adventure unfolds, Hayley and Zac discover a range of vegetables such as artichoke, corn, celery, eggplant, spinach, sweet potatoes, okras and zucchini. They fill their cart with the assortment of colourful vegetables and even figure out how to tell apart ripe vegetables from the unripe variety as well as the right way to pluck the bulbs off the stems without ruining the plant.

Hayley and her gang also meet some farmers busy harvesting their crops for the market and lend a hand to speed up the work. The duo also discover that the plants are not merely to be eaten but can be used to soothe the body such fresh cucumber slices to ease tired eyes and raw garlic as an antiseptic.

Gill punctuates her storytelling with informative bits on each vegetable including its origins and benefits gained from consuming the vegetable.

I like the way the information is presented in bite sizes which is easy to read and remember. For instance, I never knew broccoli was invented! The broccoli is a cross between the cauliflower and pea seeds and that carrots were originally red and yellow before they were crossed for the orange shade.

Apart from educational tales on vegetables, the book is complete with recipes for each vegetable featured. Noteworthy is Gill’s style of introducing the vegetables in alphabetical order – A for artichoke, B for beetroot, C for cabbage and so on. She may not have all 26 letters but does good with 24 types of vegetables ending with zucchini.

The book is a great accompaniment for mothers who want to share the wonders of a healthy diet with their babies and toddlers. Children who are exposed to eating vegetables at an early age are certainly more likely to enjoy a variety of vegetables.

My teenage children are testament. To top it off, the recipes give the children a chance to take part in the preparation and cooking process. Kids definitely will eat what they cook – even the teens!

My only gripe with the book is its lopsided focus on foreign vegetables and mostly of the bulb variety. It could have done with more leafy greens that is common and easily available at our wet and dry markets. Instances would include the sawi (mustard greens), kale, kangkung, romaine lettuce, mint, basil, coriander, yam and wide range of ulam.

Verdict: Burp!