Venola the Vegetarian — Cheryl Ware

Seventh grader Venola Mae Cutright always entertains with her wise and witty diary entries. In the fourth book in the Venola series, the saucy heroine resolutely becomes a vegetarian, accepts the pending birth of her sixth sibling, and learns about cancer with her 84-year-old friend Miss Wilma. Her initially rash swing to vegetarianism begins after she is grossed-out by seeing her own saliva cells under the microscope. Amid skepticism and discouragement, Venola embarks on an ambitious and thoughtful food journey. She educates herself about nutrition, creates adventurous menus, and learns to cook for her family, one that includes four ravenous big brothers. Her new-found vegetarian ideals even earn her the respect of her older sister, important at a time when Venola is facing not being the baby of the family any longer. She also sticks with friend Miss Wilma the hip old lady who lives above the funeral home as Miss Wilma is diagnosed and treated for breast cancer. Miss Wilma teaches her strength in the face of adversity, while also teaching her to sauté asparagus. As always, the two friends still enjoy making brownies together. If any of us would take a page from Venola s diary and approach problems with her gusto and humor, we d be all smiles! Dear Journal, If one more person mentions the word BABY to me, I might just explode. It s all I ve heard from my parents for the last few months. Ahhhh! I mean, there s other stuff going on in the world, right? So what s the big deal about another child in our already over-crowded clan? I keep praying, Please don t let it be a boy. Four brothers are enough! Well, I better get moving before my paper customers start complaining. Sincerely, Venola Mae Cutright