It"s dinnertime and Daisy knows what her mom is going to say even before she says it. "Eat your peas." Looking down at "the little green balls that were ganging up on her plate," Daisy says, "I don"t like peas." And round one of the eternal pea battle has begun. Daisy"s mother skips over the cajoling, begging, ordering phase, and jumps straight into barter mode. "If you eat your peas, you can have a dish of ice cream." Ha! We laugh at Mom"s naiveté. No, Daisy won"t settle for a simple dish of ice cream. The bargaining quickly escalates. Soon her subtly shrinking mother is promising 48 dishes of ice cream, permission to stay up past midnight, a reprieve from ever having to wash again, two new bikes, and a baby elephant. And still the ever-bigger Daisy responds, "I don"t like peas." No question about it: this story will strike a chord with more than a few young readers and their long-suffering parents. Daisy"s ultimate comeback will tickle readers of all ages, as she challenges her mother"s own aversion to brussels sprouts. Nick Sharratt"s crisp bright images of the gradually shifting power at the table are pleasing in their cartoon-like simplicity. Parents will want to keep a copy of this by the kitchen table to lighten up the often tense, wearying mealtime clash. (Ages 3 to 7) --Emilie Coulter