Avocado Baby

Name: William Joseph
Price range: $

by John Burningham

Interest age: 3 to 7
Reading age: 5+

Published by Red Fox Picture Books, 1982

Funny
Picture books

About this book

In these days of smashed avocado on toast and guacamole with everything, the premise of Avocado Baby doesn't seem too far-fetched. But there must have been extra giggles when the book first came out – in 1982 – that such a random and exotic fruit was the star of the show.

For Mr and Mrs Hargreaves' new baby is the fussy kind and doesn't seem to want to eat anything. This is a worry, since EVERYONE in the Hargreaves' household is fairly 'weak' and useless.

However, when the baby discovers the mushy delights of the avocado pear, it unleashes an appetite they never knew was there. And with every avocado, the baby grows bigger and stronger – in fact, a lot bigger and stronger than anyone could have guessed...

There's no real takeaway message, here – Avocado Baby is just a total joy. Its surreal, off-kilter humour will have parents and children chuckling with delight: from the baby chasing away a burglar to fighting off a gang of bullies. This is all tied together beautifully by the simple ink and watercolour drawings, which bring out the baby's hilarious expressions. And look out for the endpapers...

About the author

John Burningham studied illustration and graphic design at the Central School of Art, graduating with distinction in 1959. Many illustration commissions followed, including iconic posters for London Transport, before the publication of Borka: the Adventures of a Goose with No Feathers, John’s first book for children. It won the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal for illustration and heralded the beginning of an extraordinary career spanning 50 years.

John Burningham has since written and illustrated over 30 picture books, which have been translated and distributed all over the world. These feature his classic and much-loved children’s books, including Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming; Mr Gumpy’s Outing, also awarded the Kate Greenaway Medal; Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne; The Shopping Basket; The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame; Granpa, later made into an animated film; Oi! Get off our Train; and various books for adults.

John is married to the illustrator, Helen Oxenbury. They have three children, three grandchildren and a dog named Miles. They live in London.