*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Very cute book! i would totally buy this book, would be a cute way to get kids to try tomatoes too maybe lol

I was given an opportunity to review an early audiobook of “Tomatoes in MyLunchbox” in exchange for an honest opinion. This book is a memoir of this author’s childhood. The little girl and a grandmother were taken by her parents from the countrym of Greece which she loved. to live in England where nothing was the same. Even pronouncing her name sounded like breaking glass . People, including teachers didn’t know how to pronounce correctly like her family . The name just flows out naturally. She is also upset she has no friends they look at her when she eats here tomatoes. Her grandmother told her she needed to make an effort to make friends.So she tried to immulate a girl named Emma. That didn’t work out well. Another girl, Chloe, walked over to tell the author she likes yellow too. Yellow was the color of her scarf that belonged to her grandmother. Constantia said yellow reminded her of the sunny days and blue skies of her home. Both girls would wear yellow shirts every day.. one day Chloe admired Constantia’s sack lunch. She shared, of course. They were left with tomato seeds along the front of their shirts. Chloe introduced her to a couple of other girls they became fast friends. These girls now pronounce her name softly and naturally. Thank you for the advance audiobook, NetGalley, McMillan Audio, Constantia Manoli, Tomatoes in My Lunchbox.yes, I would recommend this book it could easily be used to help other children when their parents also need to move because of work.

Tomatoes in my lunch box by Costantia Manoli

What’s in a name?

How do we connect through our differences?

A SmaLL momenT TO exPeriencinG social
connecTion In CHILDren WOrKInG THrOUGH
CulTuraL Differences and Acceptance.

A great book in my opinion it offers a wonderful wholesome look at children with strong cultural backgrounds and the differences they face in social settings. How they learn to love and accept the differences and gain connection with others natural. A wonderful addition to any little persons self love and acceptance collection.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Such a beautiful book! It was a fantastic conversation starter with my son, and helped provided perspective and respect/empathy for others and culture. It seams as if this book would allow children to feel seen, understood, and given good langue to hard emotions they may experience being "new" in a different culture. Could not recommend this book and the author enough!

First off, thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for an advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. These opinions are my own.

This was a cute unexpected story with a great lesson. I went into this children's audiobook thinking it would be about tomatoes in a lunchbox. While that part is true, it's a story about something much deeper with a great lesson. Sometimes it's not always good to fit in, and it's okay to be different than others.

The narrator for this audio was perfect - my family and I recommend this audiobook & book!

NOTE- Review was posted to goodreads but could not link for some reason. Error message saying ISBN not found. However, my review was posted to goodreads.

I really enjoyed this sweet story about a small girl feeling different from her classmates. The narrator was the author, and I think she did a great job. Her voice was extremely soothing and I think it would be a very great bedtime story for littles. I really enjoyed the author's personal message at the end of the book explaining how the book was written about her life. It was very endearing.

Our protagonist is a young girl who moves to a new country. Her clothes are different than her schoolmates. Her sack lunches contain different foods. Her name sounds different in this new country.
This is a fun book about learning to love yourself even when you are different from everyone around you
The audio version of this book is really enjoyable with all of the sound effects and music in the background.

After moving from another country a young girl finds herself lonely and unsure how to make friends. Young Constantia will capture your heart as she tries to find friendship and belonging in this new place. This story is relatable to all children. I will recommend this to my colleagues for their classroom libraries.

Sometimes we choose the things that make us different, other times we don’t. When it is something we don’t choose it is great to have books that teach us about those differences. I love introducing my students to ways others are different and the same as us. I will be adding this one to my list.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced electronic audio review copy of this wonderful book. I really enjoyed the beautiful language and a powerful message of this story. It is perfect for my English language learners and I can’t wait to share this book with them.

This book's narrator did a great job. The pace and flow of the story was smooth, with transitional sound effects that painted a picture of what the book must be depicting if it were illustrated: classroom sounds, children laughing and playing, etc.

The story of a girl who moves to a new country with her family and starts a new school gives voice to a valuable perspective to early elementary school children. The main character of the story faces fears of not fitting in, and also of standing out. Her classmates have a hard time pronouncing her name, because it sounds different than their American names. However, she finds value and pride in her family's traditions and heritage, especially through the meals prepared and served at the dinner table and sent along in her lunch box.

This story is a great way for young listeners to empathize with and celebrate the diversity of their peers. It is a window into another culture and way of living, as well as a mirror, with a message about taking pride in one's differences, and appreciating the history of their family.

Tomatoes in My Lunchbox is about the author's experience as a young girl who moved from Cyprus to England as a child. Teachers and other children had difficulty saying her name at first and initially she felt like she didn't belong. It's a very bittersweet and touching story that really encapsulated the feeling of loneliness and not fitting in as a child. This would be perfect for a child with a unique name or different background than their classmates.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing this audiobook ARC.

It was an interesting experience to listen to a picturebook on audio without the accompanying pictures, but I was pleasantly surprised! Not only was the book read by the author (with a gentle and pleasant voice), but the sound effects served to enhance the story as much as the illustrations. I'm even more motivated to choose this book for our library collection because now I am intrigued to reread this picturebook with actual pictures.

This story on the immigrant experience was told with such care. Constantia Manoli blends and layers the emotions of being new not just to a classroom but to a country. The emphasis lies on how her name sounds so different in English than how it sounds back home, and how she feels the change in her name constitutes a change in her self. Nuanced and emotionally charged, this book could be so helpful to children new to a language who need to feel understood and appreciated during a difficult transition.

Recommended if you enjoyed: Becoming Vanessa by Vanessa Brantley-Newton and Gibberish by Young Vo.

Audiobook ARC was provided by NetGalley and Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest review.


What a fantastic children's book. I really enjoyed this audiobook, the narration is fabulous and the sound effects are that cherry on top for the kiddos. It's an excellent addition to any children's library.


I can easily see myself re-purchasing this book to give as gifts.

What a gorgeous children’s book! The audiobook was such a delight with background sounds and the narrator’s voice was heavenly. An amazing addition to any library!

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and the author Costantia Manoli.