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Runaway Tomato
For fans of Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs comes an action packed picture book with a sweet surprise.
Call in the trucks! When a giant tomato breaks loose at the top of a hill, it takes every tractor, fire engine, and helicopter to stop it. Lincoln Agnew's cool, vintage cartoon style is a perfect match for the high-octane action told in catchy rhyme, culminating in a jam-packed gate-fold spread of the town's Tomato Festival. What will happen when it rains on all those giant seeds? One giant surprise.
Call in the trucks! When a giant tomato breaks loose at the top of a hill, it takes every tractor, fire engine, and helicopter to stop it. Lincoln Agnew's cool, vintage cartoon style is a perfect match for the high-octane action told in catchy rhyme, culminating in a jam-packed gate-fold spread of the town's Tomato Festival. What will happen when it rains on all those giant seeds? One giant surprise.
32 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2013
1 person is currently reading
37 people want to read
About the author
Kim Cooley Reeder
1 book3 followersFirst-time author Kim Cooley Reeder thinks in stories. Most of her ideas come late at night when she should be sleeping, while driving across Oregon on long road trips and from things her children say. This particular story was created when her son asked for a bedtime story about a tomato. Kim has lots of experience with tomatoes, although she refused to eat them until her early twenties. The largest not-for-profit garden in her hometown (she's pretty sure this is accurate) was just past her backyard and owned by her parents. Kim and her siblings were conscripted to weed every morning before the sun came up. Maybe if she had paid more attention her current tomato-growing efforts would be more fruitful. Good thing she sells books and not tomatoes.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
December 27, 2017
Cute and completely funny. My kids love it
August 4, 2019
There are plenty of runaway foodstuff books out there, but Lincoln Agnew's punchy artwork is what makes this one super special. He's got an awesome graphic, cartoony-style that manages to both nostalgic AND ultra modern.
July 2, 2014
Lincoln Agnew
is one to watch
because of his way with
a tomato splotch.
(Also for the way he incorporates game board graphics, panels, Richard Scarry-esque town scenes, and cinematic perspectives in this tale of a giant tomato run amok.)
is one to watch
because of his way with
a tomato splotch.
(Also for the way he incorporates game board graphics, panels, Richard Scarry-esque town scenes, and cinematic perspectives in this tale of a giant tomato run amok.)
March 9, 2026
I really like the comic style illustrations. The plot is very silly and not at all possible but they include all my favorite things - tomatoes, helicopters, cops, firefighters, and heavy equipment. What more does a book need?
July 29, 2022
At first I thought this might be a tomato-themed version of The Gigantic Turnip, but it was more like Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, instead. The rhyming narrative is fun to read aloud and I loved how our youngest read it to us using her puppets and funny voices.
The illustrations are terrific and between the color schemes and the game boards incorporated into the scenes, they have a nostalgic feel. We enjoyed reading this book together.
The illustrations are terrific and between the color schemes and the game boards incorporated into the scenes, they have a nostalgic feel. We enjoyed reading this book together.
May 18, 2019
An unusually heavy rainfall results in a giant mutant tomato that rolls down the hill and splatters on the town below.
An ordinary garden tomato grows to epic proportions due to excessive overnight rain. Initial attempts to remove it send it rolling down the hill into the town below. When the first responders try to airlift the tomato away from the town, they unintentionally squish it, necessitating major cleanup operations. The debris is hauled to the local dump, followed by an impromptu tomato festival.
This is a circular tale, and the story closes with another heavy rain late that evening, which causes more mutant tomatoes to grow from the tomato pieces in the dump.
The text has a great rhythm and the illustrations a comic book charm.
Disclosure: Dolly Parton was kind enough to send our family this book through her Imagination Library Foundation.
An ordinary garden tomato grows to epic proportions due to excessive overnight rain. Initial attempts to remove it send it rolling down the hill into the town below. When the first responders try to airlift the tomato away from the town, they unintentionally squish it, necessitating major cleanup operations. The debris is hauled to the local dump, followed by an impromptu tomato festival.
This is a circular tale, and the story closes with another heavy rain late that evening, which causes more mutant tomatoes to grow from the tomato pieces in the dump.
The text has a great rhythm and the illustrations a comic book charm.
Disclosure: Dolly Parton was kind enough to send our family this book through her Imagination Library Foundation.
June 6, 2019
I loved this book! I loved the rhyming and how the physical characteristics of the book made the story even better. When they use a helicopter and all the words are vertical rather than horizontal and how the last few pages unfold instead of needing to be turned! This is a very creative way to get kids to use team work and also teach about rhymes. This book also made me think about cloudy with a chance of meatballs.
October 31, 2023
This is one of those books where you hope the reader is a little older because it was such a fun book. The author and illustrator did such amazing collaborator work that the story and pictures flowed seamlessly. I would recommend this book to others, and a reminder that a little rain can go a long way!
February 20, 2019
Funny read! The illustrations are wonderful! I love how the book is laced out in the pictures, and especially the page that is set side ways. Definitely a creative book. Also, the story reminds me of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Over abundance causes some mayhem.
November 30, 2017
I thought this one was just strange.
August 5, 2018
I wish I could get my tomatoes to grow half as well as the ones in this lucky(?) community. Also, that town-wide festival looks pretty fun. The illustrations are also great.
June 9, 2019
My 5-year-old loves the busy and chaotic illustrations, including the two spreads that look like game boards.
December 10, 2019
Book to add to classroom library
December 11, 2019
A catchy and interesting book, the preschoolers I worked with enjoyed it.
December 14, 2019
Hilarious. Love the boardgames in the book. 4.5 stars
March 31, 2020
Read this book with my niece. Greta for struggling readers as it rhymes.
June 30, 2023
This is a cute, fun, and silly children's book.
July 18, 2025
Super cute. Written in rhyme. Fun pages to mix up the reading as well. Read with Mabel.
March 19, 2017
This book is cute. It might be good for a preschool story time; it rhymes, it's not too long, and it's a fun story for kids who can follow a story.
July 15, 2014
The cover of this book sort of vaguely reminded me of the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes movies. This book has nothing to do with that of course so I thought I would bring it up. There is the occasional awkward rhyme but for the most part the rhyming text is amusing. Where this books really shines is the pictures. They are extremely active and expressive and lots of fun to pore over and see what the different towns folk are doing.
June 13, 2014
It's raining and the water does something magical. Unfortunately, it's going to take the whole town to get this tomato out of the front door. When the tomato rolls downhill and heads for the town itself, everybody's gotta jump in to help. It's a really funny adventure that doesn't end with stopping the runaway tomato.
July 17, 2014
This is an interesting story - it is written in poetry with very few words. There is lots to see in the pictures and the story is pretty funny. It would be challenging to read to a big group of kids because the pictures and text are so small.
September 7, 2014
As most of my good friends know, I am not a fan of tomatoes! But I couldn't help but love this fun book told in rhyme about a overgrown tomato gone wild and how the town attempts to corral it. The retro feel illustrations and bold colors make this a delicious tale!
February 16, 2017
A fun storybook and illustrated rhyming text. It was fun for me to read outloud and fun for my 3 year old granddaughter to follow with the illustrations. She received this as her monthly book from the Dolly Parton Imagination Library book club.
April 6, 2016
A tomato grows to enormous size and then rolls away, all over town, etc. Its a crazy premise; children will likely find it hilarious. Think of the giant beanstalk from Jack, except this is a tomato growing to a rather unusal size. Maybe as big as a pumpkin.
June 12, 2014
Wordy, but a fun read for kids who like absurd humor! Great illustrations.
June 12, 2014
Giant tomato break loose and wreaks havoc.
September 12, 2014
Such a cute story about a tomato that grows too big and all the things the town does to contain the mess.
October 1, 2014
Rhyming text is simple but an odd story line. Cartoonish illustrations, some set in panels to show change in size of tomato.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews