Ruffles and the New Green Thing
David Melling
Candlewick Press
Ages 2 to 5
March 24th, 2022

David Melling returns with Ruffles in Ruffles and the New Green Thing to encourage picky eaters to try new foods. Ruffles enjoys grubby, canine activities like howling, digging, and running. One day, he discovers broccoli, referring to it as “the new green thing,” in his bowl but anxiously ignores it. Ruffles instead plays with his friend, Ralph. The two dogs have similar interests, except Ralph’s curiosity leads him to try broccoli. Ruffles admires Ralph’s bravery and also takes a nibble, discovering his love for the new green thing. 

Melling uses adorable illustrations to support the text focused on Ruffles’ journey through social-emotional learning. The neat pencil and digital illustrations enhance the canine’s story through a contrasting color scheme that is eye-catching. The full-spread illustrations represent pivotal moments. The vibrant backgrounds make the characters stand out and accentuate the bright green broccoli in Ruffles’ bowl. They are paired with text revealing the fear of broccoli, Ralph’s introduction, and the first nibble of the new green thing. Ralph is depicted as larger compared to Ruffles by carrying bigger branches and jumping higher fences, highlighting his big brother qualities. The scenes with vignettes portray Ruffles’ emotions throughout his path of fear and courage with Ralph, establishing that Ruffles trusts Ralph. Ruffles’ hesitation disappears when Ralph is by his side, inspiring his friend to challenge himself. Ruffles and the New Green Thing is an entertaining and educational story for children’s social-emotional literacy.