Dangerous Vegetables

VOYA - Kathleen Krahnke

This delightful collection of stories from the past should be very accessible and desirable to teens, with its catchy title and excellent cover art. Reading down the list of stories, you know you are in for some unusual reading with tales like Rogue Tomato by Michael Bishop, Pumpkin Head by Al Sarrantonio, and Step into My Garden by Frank Belknap Long. Some of the stories are horribly sinister, like Black Harvest of Moraine by Arthur J. Burkes; some are amusing, as is Boys! Raise Giant Mushrooms in Your Cellar! by Ray Bradbury; and all are entertaining in an odd and bizarre sense-Yes! They all have to do with plant life! And readers will be looking over their shoulders before too long, to see if that spider plant has not sent any new tendrils in their direction. This collection began many years ago as the idea of editor Laumer, but it was not published in his lifetime. Laumer's own editor recently completed the collection, and includes many well-known authors such as Bradbury, Saberhagen, John Christopher, and others not as familiar including Donald Wandrei, who wrote pulp fiction in the 1920s. Each story begins with a helpful introductory paragraph listing other works by each writer and providing a bit of insight into their writing, which will aid teen readers who may not be familiar with the authors. Teens will be drawn in by the many teen protagonists and side characters. It is just off-center enough to become a real favorite pick from your collection, so order several. (One note: the book seems to have been made using very poor glue-it fell apart as I read it, and my second copy is also losing pages.). VOYA Codes: 5Q 4P J S A/YA (Hard to imagine it being better written, Broad general YA appeal, Junior High-defined as grades 7 to 9, Senior High-defined as grades 10 to 12 and adults).