Tag fussy eaters

More Peas Please!

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More Peas Please!
Tom McLaughlin
Bloomsbury Children’s Books

One supper time – on a Tuesday to be precise – Milo and Molly are sitting having their supper of lasagne and peas. Having wolfed down his lasagne Milo jumps up with a shout of “Finished!” His sister tells him otherwise and a conversation ensues, with Milo giving all manner of reasons why he can’t possibly eat the tiny roly objects, relating to their greenness, shininess and bounciness, as well as their sheer number.

Molly listens carefully and then gives her side, speaking of their strength-giving properties, as well as their ability to make Milo taller and super-smart. 

She then seizes her brother’s plate but can she manage to persuade him to return to the table and polish off those peas? He certainly appears to be having a change of heart about them …

With Milo’s fanciful food notions about harmless little spherical seeds and a surprise twist, this amusing story, hilariously illustrated by the author, is one to share with young picky eaters especially, though it will more than likely please the palates of other young children too. I especially love the way Tom McLaughlin brings Milo’s imaginings to the page. 

Broccoli anyone?

Valdemar’s Peas / Sports are Fantastic Fun!

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Valdemar’s Peas
Maria Jōnsson
Gecko Press

This deliciously funny tale of fussy eating lupine style stars young Valdemar, devourer of fish-fingers; hater of peas.

When Papa strikes a bargain: “The peas go in the tummy. Then ice cream. Chocolate ice cream!” the wily little wolf comes up with a clever ruse that gets the peas into a tummy without a single one of the wretched spherical objects passing his lips.

When he eventually fesses up to which particular tum the peas actually found their way into, Papa’s response is more than a little unexpected, which is fortunate for the young trickster.

Perhaps next time however, his pa might be a little more specific with respect to whose tummy he has in mind.

I love the interactions between father and son that will surely resonate with both young pea-protesters and other anti-veggie littles and their parents.

Maria Jönsson’s black and white illustrations with touches of yellow, red, green and of course, brown, are as playful and humorous as her words.

One to devour avidly and I’m sure second servings will be on order right away. Like those peas, this book is small but perfectly formed.

Sports are Fantastic Fun!
Ole Kōnnecke
Gecko Press

I received this book for review having spent the weekend with a very lively 5-year-old girl who proudly informed me at every opportunity, “I’m a sporty girl!”
I suspect she would feel a little under-represented in this sporting celebration.

It features a host of cartoon style animals of all kinds demonstrating a wide variety of sporting activities both of the individual and team kind; from sprinting to soccer, cricket

to climbing, fishing to cycle racing,

pole vaulting to rowing,

billiards to boxing and rhythmic gymnastics to ice-hockey.

Not only well-known sports are showcased; unlikely ones like  arm wrestling, skipping and unicycling and caber tossing also get a mention.

Each activity is described, sometimes with tongue-in-cheek irony, and illustrated in a style slightly reminiscent of Richard Scarry, with watercolour and pen drawings that are replete with visual humour.

Lack of gender equality and recognition of the differently abled notwithstanding, it’s all very entertaining and there’s a wealth of factual information relating to the featured sports.

A big thank you to Gecko Press for sending these and renewing their acquaintance with Red Reading Hub.

Our Dog Benji / Little Oink

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Our Dog Benji
Pete Carter and James Henderson
EK Books
The small boy narrator of this little book has a large dog; a dog that, unlike the boy, is pretty much omnivorous, Brussels sprouts, mushrooms, tomatoes, olives, avocado, grass, daffodils, ice-cream – understandably – are all tasty treats for the animal.

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Mornings see him searching the kitchen floor for crumbs, at mealtimes he sits hopefully under the table and even goes off alone on food forays. Building sites (for the odd bite of a sandwich) …

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and parties for a sample of ‘posh food’ are also fruitful places for a visit.
Summer comes with samplings of crunchy bugs and unripe apples (with dramatic effects on his tum and er… bum). What about our narrator though? He seems to be acquiescing somewhat: did I hear a mention of eating fruit and veg.?
Not however the green crunchy leaf stalks of a certain vegetable beginning with c.
Henderson’s duo-tone artwork works well for this tale of a food faddy child and his dog. Adults concerned about fussy eaters especially, will smile at Carter’s tale and hope that perhaps like the small boy protagonist, their charges will try some new foods, perhaps even ‘green stuff’

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Little Oink
Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Jen Corace
Chronicle Books
The hero of this board book, Little Oink, is a tiny treasure; a fun loving, nursery school savouring, family loving little guy. However, unlike most youngsters, he has a great dislike for mess-making of any kind; in fact he wants everything to be just so: after all his pals are allowed to have tidy rooms. “Why can’t I?” Little Oink asks his parents one day.

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Papa Pig’s ‘respectable grown up pigs are proper mess makers’ explanation and Mama Pig’s proviso for going out to play, “Mess up your room, put on some dirty clothes,” have him obeying – eventually. Then off he goes to have fun – playing … house!

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This makes a trilogy of ‘Little’ books from Rosenthal and again, her humour shines through and is delightfully illuminated through Jen Corace’s deliciously droll illustrations.

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There’s Broccoli in my Ice Cream!

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There’s Broccoli in my Ice Cream!
Emily MacKenzie
Bloomsbury Children’s Books
Now here’s a mouth-watering treat and a deliciously funny one, to tickle the taste buds of fussy eaters and foodies young and not so young, from author/illustrator, Emily MacKenzie.
Young dalmation, Granville’s loathing of all things green and crunchy, yellow and mushy and red and squashy hugely disappoints his family of greengrocers and gardeners. So much so that they’re determined to find a foolproof ploy to turn his predilection for puddings, pastry and ‘chocky wocky gooey things’ to a passion for parsnips and broccoli. A plan is hatched …

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Action stations … and it seems to be working.

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Granville however, has a plan of his own and it’s one that – ultimately – yields some surprising, and satisfying, results …
Emily Mackenzie’s characters are always of the delightfully wacky and decidedly distinctive kind. There was book burglar Ralfy Rabbit, Stanley, the amazing knitting cat and now in veggie-hating Granville, we have another who is equally appealing; his Grandpa Reggie is a delight too.

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Further servings are certain to be the order of the day after an initial sampling of this delectable offering. My audience certainly relished it.

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