Tomatoes on Trial: The Fruit v. Vegetable Showdown [Hardcover]

NCTE Orbis Pictus Recommended Title
Eureka! Nonfiction Gold Honor Award (California Reading Association)
Notable Children's Book in the Language Arts
2026 Texas Topaz List
A Bank Street Best Book

Is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable? The US Supreme Court takes on the case in this juicy history picture book for kids ages 7 to 10.

In the late 1800s, American produce king John Nix just wanted to sell tomatoes. But when import taxes on popular vegetables impacted his profits, he knew he had to remedy the situation. Nix set out to prove that tomatoes, which have seeds and grow on vines, were clearly fruits. That was the claim Nix argued all the way to the US Supreme Court. With Nix on Team Fruit, and the US government on Team Vegetable, both sides slung definition after definition in an epic, legal food fight. This little-known agriculturally-based story from American history will fascinate young readers and encourage them to take a stand and defend their opinions.★ The Supreme Court battle over the definition of a tomato plays out in a humorous children's picture book which is most certainly guilty of being a remarkable read. —Shelf Awareness, starred review

“With more puns than a tomato has seeds, this title will have young debaters ready to take on the challenge of 'Fruit or Vegetable?' Full of evidence and rebuttals, the book exposes readers to the arguments on both sides of the issue and by the end, they might find their opinions have changed. No matter the outcome, readers will have learned a great deal about legal reasoning and how to make a convincing argument. Fotheringham’s blotted line and color wash illustrations brim with humor and history, adding to the appeal of this engaging title. By the end, readers will be ripe and ready to make lCC