In the world of the refrigerator (a.k.a. the Wait) the goal is to be Chosen, as the Swiss cheese Louise soon discovers. Everyone there, from slices of bread to cobs of corn, is waiting to be Chosen. The worst fate is to go mouldy and thus go to waste. Being scooped up by Kit the Cat, who plays with food and leaves it on the floor, is just as bad. But as the fridge door opens and closes over and over, Louise worries that she will never be Chosen. Yet her bravery in rescuing Humphrey the half-eaten yogurt from Kit the Cat makes her a hero – a delight surpassed only by finally being Chosen.

This is a quirky story designed to appeal to both kids and adults. Slater’s talking groceries are full of gum-snapping wit and terrible puns. Children will undoubtedly relish the irony that being Chosen means being eaten. Slater capitalizes on this by using slang words for death throughout, as when a slice of bread is lifted out exclaiming joyfully, “I’m toast!” Cowden’s colourful 1950s ad-style illustrations complement the wacky mood and make the edible characters believable.

However, there are problems. Louise’s heroic rescue – accomplished by clipping the sleeping cat’s nose shut with a bag clip so he won’t smell her as she reaches Humphrey – is not credible. Parts of the book are physically difficult to read: much of the type is small, and the use of orange lettering against a yellow background, and black lettering against dark blue, makes the reader squint.