Sweet and Sour

by Brian Yanish, Stacy Ebert (illustrator)

Sweet and Sour is a dill-ightfully silly and heartfelt picture book about two rival pickles fermenting their way to friendship—perfect for fans of Stick and Stone and The Day the Crayons Quit.

Sweet and Sour are in a serious pickle. Opposites in almost every way, they are next-door neighbors who just can’t seem to get along. As competition between them ramps up, it may be that their backyard battles will consume them. Or can these persnickety personalities find something better to do with all their misspent energy?

Flavored with a tangy text by Brian Yanish and tart art from Stacy Ebert, this tale about second chances, overcoming differences, and celebrating what unites us is sure to pickle the fancy of readers young and old.

Genres: Picture Books, Food, Friendship, Childrens

40 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 30, 2024

About the author

Brian Yanish is an author, illustrator and maker. He has worked for Jim Henson Productions, trained as a special effects moldmaker, written and performed comedy and designed home furnishings, apparel and toys. He is the creator of ScrapKins®, a Recycled Arts Enrichment program that inspires kids to see creative potential in everyday junk. Brian has presented workshops at schools and institutions across the country and even appeared on Sesame Street. His books include the Shark and Bot young graphic novel series, Pirate Chicken: All Hens on Deck, Junk Re-Thunk, The Build-It Book and the forthcoming Sweet and Sour (FSG 2024). He lives in Rochester, NY and enjoys sharks, robots and gummy things.

Reviews

[Jasmine from How Useful It Is · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for my toddler's as a story time. This book talks about Sweet Pickles and Sour Pickles. They are neighbors. The story started out with their interests and how they are opposite. Sweet likes to jump up on the trampoline, go fast skate boarding, and likes to take baths. Sour likes to go down doing yoga, go slow skate boarding, and likes to take showers. There were more examples of how different they were. They thought they were different so Sour puts up a fence to keep himself separate from Sweet. Sweet built a skating ramp and played without Sour. Sour built a swimming pool and didn't invite Sweet. Sweet was sad and played in a kiddie pool. Sour did the same with his small skating ramp. Sweet then realized that they aren't so different after all and decided to make amends with Sour.

A fun story with awesome illustrations. My toddler and I loved the story. The inside cover of the book has illustrations of the town which looks super fun but the story only locates in the characters' backyard. Hopefully there will be a sequel where the characters go to town!

Thank you MacKidsBooks for the opportunity to read and review.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am very tired of this tale of two neighboring pickles, one sweet one sour. They must figure out how to overcome their differences. While my son adores this book for unknown reasons, I find the rhyming to be very poor.

[John Mullarkey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story that compares the sweet and sour nature of both kinds of pickles - built around their characteristics. This is a great read aloud (I tried it on two groups - pre-k and kindergarten and I was surprised as to how many of them liked pickles!) with bright illustrations that compliment the story perfectly. It almost reads like a classic cartoon as both Sweet and Sour spar off against each other to prove which pickle is better. Of course, neither has as much fun as he could without the other, thus it is a good lesson on friendship and togetherness as well. Make sure you check out the pictures of the Pickletown at the beginning and end of the book - it looks like a fun place to visit!

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two neighbors and totally opposite! Meet Sweet and Sour, neighbors that are totally opposite in every way! One loud, one quiet, one angry and one sad. They just can’t seem to agree until they start building special projects in their yard and purposely leave each other out. Then they find out that both of them like to be included and can find some common ground, even be pals!

Super fun read with relatable characters (even if they are pickles 😂).

[Ellon · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars (I liked it)

So first of all, the sweet pickle definitely looks like a lemon on the cover. I was confused haha.

I really liked the beginning of the book where it was showing opposites. But then when the text got longer, the rhyme scheme got really off. While I did like the eventual conclusion that we can get along despite our differences, the journey there wasn't my favorite.

[Bree Sotirovich · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had a fact that blew my mind. No telling on here because I want to see if it does the same to yours! Overall the book is cute and the ending is "sweet" pickles. There are a few jokes at the end that kids and probably adults will too.

[Bookishrealm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't go into this expecting to be blown away, but I knew I might get some funny pickle puns and jokes out of it and it didn't let me down. As an avid pickle eater, this hit all the right spots for me! And I think it'll be appealing to younger readers looking for a fun/funny read.

[Jessie (Saffity) · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son (2 at the time) picked up this book because he liked pickles. Since then, both he and his sister (now 3 and 6) have had it in heavy rotation. They love seeing what different things the pickles get up to and how they work together.

[Kelly]

This was a cute book. It's basically a book about pickles who have differences but in the end work them out.

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pickle up this book! You will be feeling sweet instead of sour at the end.
Great lesson for kids. Love the pickle theme and the illustrations.

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, would be fun to read to a little kid! Big bright colored artwork. Nice book!

[Audrey | WellReadandUndead(ish) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute and full of pickle puns

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a sweet pickle and there is a sour pickle, and they are opposites. They are also enemies. I liked how on the end they realized they weren't so different and they could be friends.

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two differently flavored pickle neighbors experience conflict due to their opposing personalities.

This picture book shows how people can behave badly when they feel disappointed or excluded as well as that it is possible for people with significant differences to form friendships.