Tomato for kids

Speaking Tomato

Educational Project on vegetables and fruits for children.

Since 1999  books on Fruits and Vegetables for kids with Healthy Recipes  were published and distributed in USA, UK, RSA, Russia, Holland and India. The well-deserved popularity of this unique approach to healthy diet is growing ...

Stuffed Tomatoes

- 6 tomatoes
- 500g cheese
- half a glass boiled rice
- 4 tablespoons crushed nuts
- 3 cloves garlic
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons chopped herbs

Grate the cheese, add the nuts, rice, herbs, crushed garlic and mayonnaise, and mix them all together. Cut the tomatoes in half, remove the core and put the filling inside the tomatoes. You can also add fish to the filling if you wish.

The boy left the 'root vegetables' meeting and went outside for some fresh air.

‘Caw! Caw! Miracle powder to help you grow the best vegetables!' a huge grey crow squawked in his ear.

‘What kind of powder is it?!' Toby asked in amazement.

‘Don't listen to him, lad. Shoo, you horrible thing!' a sandy-coloured hare shouted from the bushes.

‘Caw! Caw! Fools!' the crow squawked, flying away.

‘Do hares really live in the Vegetable Kingdom?' Toby said in surprise.

‘I was invited here because I'm an expert in the nightshade family,' the hare explained.

‘An expert in what family?' the boy said in amazement.

‘Visitors from America , the nightshade family. Do you really not know tomatoes, potatoes, aubergines and peppers? Let's go to my tomato kingdom and I'll tell you everything,' the hare said.

The boy and the hare went into the greenhouse together and found themselves in a real forest. The tomato stalks were twisted together to make a thick jungle, and they hung on rods along the pathways. Clusters of green and reddish tomatoes, and bunches of little yellow flowers filled the place. There was such a strong smell of tomatoes in the greenhouse that Toby wrinkled his nose and said:

‘I like tomatoes, but I'm getting dizzy from the smell.'

‘It's normal. They are members of the nightshade family, famous for their toxicity. Tomato roots and leaves are poisonous, but the fruit itself has excellent properties. Senor Tomato is the vitamin C champion among all the vegetables. Vitamin C, along with natural acids, gives tomatoes their unique taste.'

‘Hare,' the boy said. ‘Why did you chase that crow away?'

‘That mischievous bird almost destroyed my nurslings,' the hare sighed. ‘Tomatoes are difficult plants. I have to look after them from morning till night. One day the crow flew in and started squawking:

“Caw! Have you heard about the miracle growth powder? We brought it to the forest shop from a magical island. On that island, no one waters anything, but they still have wonderful harvests.”

“This powder won't harm my tomatoes, will it?” I asked suspiciously, but the crow convinced me to try it.

My tomatoes didn't look well that day. I decided that the powder would make things better, and eagerly sprinkled it over every bush. The next day I could see that the tomatoes had grown a lot.

“It’s just like a fairytale!’ I said joyfully, and poured even more powder over the tomatoes. A week later, the first lot of crops had ripened.

Soon afterwards I opened a tomato cafe! At the beginning, everything was fine, but one day I noticed that customers had left my wonderful tomato porridge on their plates, and an old hedgehog spat out his tomato cutlet and stormed out the cafe, slamming the door behind him.

“Hedgehogs don’t know anything about tomatoes,” I reassured myself, but when I tried the cutlet, I discovered it was completely tasteless.

Grabbing a basket, I raced to the greenhouse to collect more tomatoes so I could make things better. It was stuffy and damp inside. I picked out the biggest tomato and took a bite: it tasted of nothing. Frightened, I began to try all the tomatoes one after the other, but none of them tasted of anything. My head started to spin because it was so stuffy in there, and I almost fell over.

... (this is the end of our fragment from the story on tomatoes 'TOMATO KINGDOM").

Read the next story on tomatos (with poetry and animations) -
Story for kids 'HOW TOMATOES BECAME FRIENDS >>

Activities on Story about Tomato

• Why did the hare start to use the “miracle” powder?
• Do you think the hare would have guessed that the powder was harmful without the little bush's help?
• Why did the hare's tomatoes become tasteless?
• Have you ever felt that some vegetables have been tasteless?
• Do you think fertilizer is the most important thing for producing a good harvest?
• Draw the hare's tomatoes.
• Imagine you and the hare open a restaurant together. Make up recipes for tomato dishes.