The Blue Tomato

A tale of moving and wanting to fit in.

Blu (a blue tomato) moves to a new home and is excited to meet new friends. But when he realises he is the only blue tomato in a town of red tomatoes, he tries all sorts of ways to fit in by turning red, even though the other tomatoes don’t care what colour he is. He tries paint, which washes off, then ladybird juice, which doesn’t seem to change his colour either.

However, he soon becomes frustrated and very sad. Until he finds a group of others at a farmers market, all of whom don’t look like each other at all! They are ready to accept Blu just the way he is. He realises that we can all look very different but we can still all be friends and belong.

The tale might be simple but Amber Au’s story captures the feeling of loneliness that Blu feels when he feels like an outsider, and then his excitement when he finds that he can fit in anywhere regardless of his appearance. Such an important message for young readers everywhere. In fact, if you look closely all the red tomatoes look different too!

The minimalistic colour range emphasises close looking at shapes and expressions rather than being overwhelmed by colour, and the endpapers cleverly show the reader contrasting family trees to reinforce the message that we should embrace everyone for their unique qualities. A fabulous book for all young readers starting their journeys.