Too Pickley!

 

Bloomsbury Children's Books

Jean Reidy, Illustrated by Genevieve Leloup

Talk about judging a book by the cover - you can tell from the boy's upturned nose on this one that these pickles aren't making the cut. In fact, none of the foods offered to him will meet his exacting standards. He has a specific problem with each and every one.  Does that sound like a picky eater who bellies up to your table? 

The book opens with the little boy yelling "I am hungry!" I am quite sure he's bellowing because the font is enormous white letters and this kid looks like he means business.  Food after food is offered, but he finds fault with each one: "Too crunchy, too licky, too stingy, too sticky."  Yup, that sounds about right for a picky toddler. I wonder if the author wrote this based on personal experience? 

He declares the soup too slurpy, spaghetti too stringy, carrots too crunchy and snails too slimy.  He's got a valid point with those snails.  And he could very well be right on with the fish being too fishy.  But deeming the lollipop too licky and the cinnamon rolls too gooey - you lost me there, kid.

I really like the kid's facial expression each time he turns down a food.  He shows us everything he's got, from disdain to terror, and many more in between. The boy has a small tan companion he drags along, who provides a little bit of humor with his antics. One of us thought it was likely a small stuffed bear, but the other vehemently insisted it was a large hamster. That will have to be your call.

My five year old summed it pretty well with this statement "This kid doesn't eat anything! He's pickier than me."  Yes, this kid must be the pickiest eater in the world, which other children will just love reading about.


Review copy provided by Bloomsbury.