Junior Asparagus Learns the Value of Giving in Cool Hand Cuke

I love VeggieTales, the main creation of Christian media company Big Idea, and own nearly all of the videos in the ever-expanding series. But it occurred to me recently that there is a significant gap when it comes to my familiarity with their books, of which I’ve only read a few. With some help from my local library, I’ve decided to amend that as best I can this summer.

Being a bit of a movie connaisseur, I was delighted to realize that VeggieTales has a whole line of books largely inspired by classic movies. As is generally the case with this series, the kids get a lesson presented in a fun manner, while adults can enjoy all the little winks at a beloved piece of pop culture. Cindy Kenney’s Cool Hand Cuke, illustrated by Michael Moore, has a plot that is only tangentially related to the Paul Newman film Cool Hand Luke, but it’s fun to look through the book for places where Kenney alludes to the movie.

From what I have seen of the books in this VeggieTown Values series, it appears that each book employs the framing device of Junior Asparagus, the everykid of the Veggie world, having some sort of problem to deal with, and working his way through it by entering into a book offered to him by Mr. O’Malley, the wise proprietor of the Treasure Trove Bookstore. After a stint as observer and participant in a story that effectively illustrates how to deal with the issue currently facing him, he returns to the “real world,” ready to tackle whatever comes next.

Cool Hand Cuke is a lesson in giving. At the beginning, Junior is waiting tables alongside Laura Carrot, and he’s frustrated because he’s wasting a beautiful day working instead of having fun and, worst of all, he doesn’t get to keep the money, since all the cash raised on this day goes to the local hospital. Doesn’t seem very worth it to him. So when he finds himself out in the country with a couple of cheerful farmhands, he’s surprised at how willing they are to do chores when it is others - again, residents at a local hospital - who benefit from their labor.

Larry the Cucumber is Cool Hand Cuke, while Bob the Tomato is his faithful pal Hot Hand Tomato and Pa Grape, clad in sunglasses and a cowboy hat, is their boss. Throughout the story are little nods to Cool Hand Luke, most notably a twist on the famous line “What we got here is... failure to communicate.” There’s also an amusing Veggified version of Luke’s amazing egg-gobbling feat.

While the illustration style in these books is not the lush computer-animated technique viewers of the videos are used to, all of the characters are still very recognizable in their slightly flatter forms, and throughout the book are plenty of vibrant colors and amusing props. It’s also fun to go through the pages and inspect the minor characters to see which of them is a familiar Veggie face in disguise.

For those who are happy to be acquainted with the Veggie gang, Cool Hand Cuke makes for good summery reading, demonstrating that money for oneself isn’t the only worthwhile payoff for a job well done.