If you have noticed the “imperfect” fresh fruit and vegetables at the shops and wondered how they felt, this book might be for you.
A Lane Cove local, Gemma Jones, noticed that at the supermarkets, the “imperfect” fruit and vegetables were usually isolated in their section. It seemed cute at first, but it showcased something else deeper to her.
“Just because some look different doesn’t mean it needs to be singled out,” she said.
Although Jones never considered publishing her first book before, her husband encouraged her to turn the idea into a written story. This was shortly followed by coming across a self-publishing children’s book course on Facebook, resulting in the creation of The Odd Bunch.
“It took just over three years, though I was working full-time and had two babies in that stretch, so it wasn’t exactly a straight line to publication!”
The story is told through a series of letters from a carrot, a potato, an apple, an avocado, a zucchini and a pear who are not perfect enough for the supermarket fresh produce standard. Although the book is for primary school children, the universal theme and beautiful illustrations allow the book to be enjoyed by all ages. The deeper message of the book is to be kind, inclusive and that it was okay to accept our differences as according to the book, “different isn’t so bad after all”.
The illustrator of the book, Lita Rizqiani is based in Indonesia and had a lot of creative freedom with the drawing. This process included research on why supermarkets rejected certain fresh produce to ensure accurate representation of the character’s feelings in the book.
As someone that had worked in the education field for 10 years, she hopes the meaning of the book teaches the kids “to accept our differences”.
The book is independently published under Sage Picket Fence and is available here priced at A$26.99.
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