The Fall of General Custard: Or the Overthrow of a Leftover

The Fall of General Custard brings to life a playful, imaginary world inside of a refrigerator. When the cherries are “foodnapped” by the greedy General Custard, a full-on food fight breaks out between the food groups. When conflict and division enter the normally peaceful world of the “Fridge”, the story demands resolution and speaks to important themes and challenges that children frequently encounter in their own lives: cooperation vs. conflict and personal choices about right and wrong.The heroine (a brave maraschino cherry named Rosaline) and the hero (a faithful Olive named Romeo) take risks for what they believe is right and shine a light of understanding and truth in the “Fridge” so that other foods can see the wisdom of choosing cooperation and peacemaking over the fear and conflict General Custard and his food fight offers. This rhyming story, full of humor, wordplay, and wildly and delightfully detailed illustrations, stands on its own as pure entertainment, but can also be a launching point for thoughtful discussions with children about conflict and cooperation, as well as making a stand for what you believe is right.

Author

Matt Damon is an elementary school teacher and storyteller. He lives in Ashland, OR.

Illustrator

Gideon Kendall  is an artist, illustrator, animation designer, and musician in Brooklyn, NY. He has illustrated books for Penguin/Putnam and illustrated articles and record covers for publications and companies such as The New York Times, Puma, the Children’s Television Workshop, Scholastic, and Geffen.