"The Sweetest Fig" By: Chris Van Allsburg

The story The Sweetest Fig screams the lesson 'what goes around comes around'. It is about a dentist, Bibot, who is greedy, selfish, and mean to those around him. He is especially mean to his dog, Marcel. He takes an old lady's tooth out, but finds out that she cannot pay him. Instead of paying the dentist with money she gives him two figs, and promises that if he eats these figs they will make his dreams come true. Bibot takes the figs, but refuses to give the old lady pain medicine because she didn't pay money. That night he eats one of the figs, and sure enough the next day his dream has come true. Realizing the power of the figs, Bibot saves the last fig for a dream that he has created, which is to be the richest man. Unfortunately for Bibot his dream takes an interesting turn.
I love the message this book sends because it just goes to show you should treat others the way you want to be treated. Bibot treated the old lady and his dog Marcel like they were scum. By the end of the book the tables have turned, and Bibot recieves the same poor treatment that he had shown everyone else.
In addition to a great message the book's pictures again fit the story perfectly. The pictures had the same textured background they did in the book The Widow's Broom, but this time they're in color. When the setting was inside Bibot's house the colors were bright to show the extremely tidy house he kept.
Chris Van Allsburg has a wonderful imagination, and I think that his stories are ones that get readers hooked. They also spark the imagination, and I think that this book in addition to some of his other books would be great resources, not only for reading but to inspire writing.