Book Talk Tuesday!

It's Book Talk Tuesday at Lemme Library. Check out lots of other great book talks there!

This week, I'm highlighting three books about food - two about picky eaters and one about a wildly adventurous one! These are fun ways to take the pressure off at mealtime and all three make good read alouds.  I tested out two of these with my PreK and K classes last week, and they were a hit!

In the comments, What's YOUR least favorite food?

Little Pea, by Amy Rosenthal

Little Pea hates eating his usual supper of candy every night. When his parents ask him to eat five pieces, it's a real struggle. But that's what he's got to do if he wants dessert. The question is: what's the dessert that he loves so much? 

We're just dying to find out what could be more attractive to him than candy?! A sweet simple story that makes the mealtime struggle into silly fun. Good for PreK and up.

Fussy Freya, by Katherine Quarmby

When Freya suddenly becomes a fussy eater, her mother becomes alarmed. What can she do to get Freya to eat again? Grandmother has the answer, but her solution is so gross we are a bit alarmed ourselves! 

When Freya asks for bizarre foods, Grandma serves them up! Elephant with egg, grilled giraffe, and a warthog head. Eeew! Given the choice of these or normal foods, Freya quickly realizes she's been too picky! Good for K and up.

Beetle McGrady Eats Bugs! by Megan McDonald

Beetle McGrady is an adventurous type. When it's time to create a class project about the food pyramid, she's not content to deal with five major food groups; she wants to add a sixth - bugs! She even declares that she'll eat an ant, just to prove that they're a real food groupl. 

But as the children call her bluff, she begins to question her resolve. She practices with potato chips, but they're not tickly. She practices with rasins, but they don't have legs. The fact is, she's having trouble eating the ant and it's making her upset. What kind of adventurer is she if she can't even eat a silly little ant? 

After a week of experimenting with lots of unique foods, the class gets to Friday's meals. Ta dah! Bugs served lots of different ways! Turns out Beetle has no trouble popping bugs into her mouth when they're prepared properly! She gives us her hints on the endpapers. Bright jaunty watercolors keep the fun central and the gross bug-eating less alarming. Good for grade 1 and up.