Never stop never stopping, right? Simultaneously, I offer my child new foods daily while also trying to reduce the drama and pressure around mealtimes. So, of course I like to read books about other picky eating children to hammer the point home at bedtime, too. Books for picky eaters range from super preachy to downright hilarious. But I’ll try anything; unlike my kid.
Here are a few of our go-to books:
Green Eggs and Ham: This Dr. Seuss classic has been on our shelves since long before it was a metaphor for not trying unusual foods. Sawyer loves it and can retell the entire story in rhyme without thinking he ought to try something new at dinner.
The Prince’s Breakfast: We picked up this book from a preschool fair a couple years ago along with the audio CD narrated with a delightful British accent by Downton Abby’s Hugh Bonneville. We listen to this story in the car a LOT. At one point Sawyer said, “I would totally force that kid to try his dinner.” How odd.
Bread and Jam for Frances: Another longtime favorite of the family, the closest we came to changing Sawyer’s habits with this book was that we gave up on feeding him the regular family dinner in lieu of peanut butter waffles hoping he’d ask for a change. In the book, Frances’ mom gets her to change her ways within 48 hours. We started our experiment in April and now it is June and I better make another Costco run to replenish our supply.
I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato (Charlie and Lola): This cute book made us laugh and laugh while still avoiding vegetables. That whole carrots are orange twiglets from Jupiter or broccoli spears are trees and YOU ARE A GIANT never gained traction at our table.
Pinkalicious: SPOILER ALERT: She eats too many pink cupcakes and turns pink only to revert to normal after eating a lot of green foods. How did my kid respond? By wanting to make dyed cupcakes. Oh well.
So, yeah, to quote the Prince’s Breakfast (somewhere in the middle, before he’s cured by ketchup), “Our son is still picky whatever we try.” Though these books haven’t solved the problems we face with feeding our child real food, I think he genuinely enjoys stories about other critters and kids like him. In a bizarro world way, he feels empathy by hearing their tales.
A few others we might check out while keeping our expectations in check:
- Dragons Love Tacos: The images and story are hilarious for these taco-loving dragons but my kid will take his quesadillas plain thankyouverymuch.
- Monsters Don’t Eat Broccoli – Oops. They accidentally ate it and liked it. This hits too close to home for me.
- Tales for Very Picky Eaters – I find the title a bit too on-the-nose, but readers love the imagination of the story.
- Gregory, the Terrible Eater – Again, I may be splitting hairs here, but I don’t want my son to know we know he’s picky or terrible or totally defeating me at the dinner table.
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