I Will Never Not Eat A Tomato

Author: Lauren Child

Date of Publication: September 2003

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Summary 

This book is here for students to begin to see that trying new foods can be an interesting experience. The story walks through someone being convinced into trying foods they initially thought were going to taste bad, but were surprisingly mistaken. This is the best selection because students at this age can be picky eaters, especially when it comes to more healthy foods. By showing them that the foods that we are not willing to try can actually turn out to taste really good, is one of the first steps a student can make towards independent healthy eating choices. There are many books that try to promote healthy eating, but this one is the best because the character has strong opinions and has to open her mind to trying new things through imagination. It is a witty book that children can relate to and will enjoy reading.

Video of Reading: I Will Never Not Eat A Tomato

NHES:

NHES Standard 5.5.5- Chose a healthy option when making a decision

Learning Objectives for this Resource:

• Students will see that new food can be a good thing
• Students will be encouraged to try new things
• Students will have an open mind eating foods that they don’t want to try.

Integrate Nutrition into Art

We can integrate this topic of Nutrition into the core topic of Art. After we finish reading the book, the students will be introduced to MyPlate. This site is a fun and innovative tool that allows students to explore what it looks like to have a well balanced meal. The book I Will Never Not Eat A Tomato shows how a child develops love for tomatoes and eats healthier. We will be going over what a well balanced meal is and they will explore the MyPlate site. Then the students will receive a cutout paper of MyPlate that they can design themselves and create their own balanced, healthy meal and include different art standards (GLE). This will be an art project where the students will be naming their own food groups, using photos of food, color, and balance to design their healthy meal. This will make students interested in eating healthy, learn about new foods, and present it to their classmates.

Art Standards Integration:

GLE:1.1.5: Understands, applies, and creates the element space when producing a work of art.

• Application: Students will be placing the foods into the plate, showing their views of a balanced meal. This means, they will have places where their food will need to only be in one category and know that it is in the correct space on the paper and not overlapping into another food group.

GLE:1.1.7: Understands, applies, and creates repetition/pattern, contrast, variety, balance, movement/rhythm, and proportion in a work of art.

• Application: Students will be creating a MyPlate that is balanced. They will be able to make sure that not one section of the plate is too overloaded with food, while the others are suffering. They will understand that if they do not fill in the plate correctly, the ideal balance of eating a healthy meal will not be fulfilled.

GLE: 2.2.1: Applies a performance and/or presentation process to visual arts.

• Application: Students will present their project of their balanced plate and describe why they designed it the way they did and why the food is in each section.