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McClements, George. 2008. Night of the Veggie Monster. Bloomsbury.

Something terrible happens every Tuesday night.

Can you guess what it is? If you live with a picky eater, you just might have guessed what drama will follow. (Though you might not have guessed the exact vegetable causing that night's fuss.) Yes, every Tuesday night, the "something terrible" is a serving of vegetables. In this instance, it happens to be peas. (I love peas. Of all the vegetables to cause a fuss, I wouldn't guess english peas to be the culprit. Maybe the parents don't know about melting butter on frozen peas--the only way to go!) Yes, our little drama-king is being "forced" by his "mean" parents to eat three whole peas.


Oh the drama. For with the touch of the pea on his tongue, he turns into a Veggie Monster. "My fingers become all wiggly. . . My toes twist and curl up in my shoes . . ." and soon he's a fully transformed and ready to "smash the chairs. . . [and] tip the table." But then a strange thing happens, he swallows the pea and the world doesn't end. In fact, he admits that it was "all right, really." But the hysteria may return for tomorrow, Wednesday, is broccoli night!

Some of my other picky-eater picture book favorites are:



I Will Not Ever Never Eat A Tomato by Lauren Child
and

D.W. The Picky Eater

and Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

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The Cat In the Hat (1957) is a great Seuss book. Probably a fan favorite in many ways. And if you're honest, it's probably one of the Seuss's that pop in mind first when asked what he wrote. How does a reviewer review such a well-known book? This reviewer is going to share some favorite quotes and side-step evaluating it. Here's how it begins: "The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play. So we sat in the house all that cold, cold wet day." The book--as you know--is about a stranger--a Cat in the Hat--who comes to visit, to tempt, to play with two young children on a rainy day when they're mother is gone for the day. The other memorable character? The fish who did NOT like the Cat in the Hat at all. Why do I love Cat in the Hat? Thing One and Thing Two! But as much as I enjoyed it, I think I enjoyed The Cat in the Hat Comes Back even more.

The Cat In The Hat Comes Back (1958) is a really great book.

"This was no time for play. This was no time for fun. This was no time for games. There was work to be done. All that deep, deep, deep snow, all that snow had to go. When our mother went down to the town for the day, She said, "Somebody has to clean all this away. Somebody, Somebody has to, you see." Then she picked out two Somebodies. Sally and me."

I can't begin to tell you how many times someone has quoted that around the house "Somebody, somebody has to you, you see." Who should approach these home-alone children once more? None other than the Cat in the Hat. He leaves them to their work while he goes in to take a nice soak in their tub. But he leaves a ring in the tub.

"A ring in the tub!
And, oh boy! What a thing!
A big long pink cat ring!
It looked like pink ink!"

Then begins a long, dramatic attempt to clean up one mess after the other after the other after the other. Before it's all done, we meet many new characters beginning with Little Cat A. It was a fun book that is just a delight to read. Much more fun than the original.

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Help Me, Mr. Mutt! by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel. April 2008. Harcourt.

I loved this book. It's true. I loved it. Whether you like cats or dogs OR cats and dogs, I have a feeling you'll like this one too. The full title of this one is Help Me, Mr. Mutt! Expert Answers for Dogs with People Problems. The premise is simple. Dogs write to Mr. Mutt for advice about the problems they're having with their owners. Mr. Mutt then responds. But never one to let a dog have the last word in anything, the Queen also responds. (The Queen--in case you didn't guess it from her name--is a cat.)

It was hard for me to choose a favorite part. It really was. It was hard for me to even narrow it down a bit. I really loved so many of the "letters" that Dr. Mutt received and answered. But of particular note--if I have to play favorites--I'd say that Overdressed In Oklahoma was one of my favorites.

Dear Mr. Mutt,

It's ridiculous!
Outrageous!
Preposterous!
Holidays are unbearable. First I'm a baby, next I'm a bunny, then I'm a bride, now I'm an angel.
I'm NOT a baby or a bunny or a bride or an angel.
I'm a dog.
Where is my dignity? I'm the laughingstock of the block! I'm in need of your assistance immediately!
Help me, Mr Mutt!

Overdressed in Oklahoma

P.S. My people never dress up the cantankerous cat!

Another one I simply loved was Confused in Connecticut. The truth is that I really loved them all. I HIGHLY recommend this book for everyone that loves pets--cats, dogs, whatever. It's a true gem of a book. The text, the illustrations, everything was just right!

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Max Cleans Up is one of many by Rosemary Wells that feature the lovable bunny characters of Max and Ruby. The characters are found in both picture books and board books. My childhood didn't include Max and Ruby. And this is actually the first Max and Ruby that I've actually sat down and read cover to cover. In this book, Ruby is bossing Max around telling him how to clean his room, how to clean up after himself. Max in what is most likely typical Max-fashion is stubborn and resistant.

Familiar scenario? There are many many books about messy rooms, about cleaning up messy rooms, books showing the conflict between messy folks and neat-and-tidy folks. So this isn't alone by any means. It is fun for what it is, but there are others I've enjoyed more. I've got to say though that if your little one loves Max or Ruby (or Max AND Ruby) then they will be more likely to enjoy this one. Knowing the characters, loving the characters can sometimes make a book funnier or 'better' all around.

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Here's another book by Rosemary Wells. Like Yoko it is new-to-me. Again we're dealing with animal characters. I have mixed feelings about Felix as you'll see. Felix is good-to-go during the day. But at night, Felix becomes bogged down with worries. He has trouble sleeping at night because of all the worrying thoughts that pop up. These worries are personified as The Worrier. The Worrier is yellow and short. And dare I say it??? He's a bit freaky looking.

The Worrier hopped right in [from the window] and sat down. "I'm worried about that little black spot on your tooth," he said. Felix's clouds of happiness disappeared. Felix and the Worrier worried about the little black spot on Felix's tooth until the morning sun rose in the sky. "Bye-bye! " said the Worrier.

When morning comes, his mother's reassurances and calming presence makes all his fears, worries, doubts go away. He tells his mother what's on his mind, what's got him worried, what's got him down. And she is able to calm him, soothe him, tell him that everything is good, everything is okay, that his worries have been for nothing.

But at night, the worries creep back in. He worries about playing with other children at playschool, he worries about his birthday party, etc. On the night before his birthday, however, something happens that makes the Worrier vanish for good. That something is his birthday present--a small dog named Rufus.

What I like about the book. First of all, I like Felix. I didn't really know that many worried-and-anxious type book characters growing up. And I sure did need them. Believe me. But there wasn't Felix. There wasn't Wemberly. I think some kids do have anxious thoughts, worries, doubts, fears. And I think it's good that these real kids have fictional counterparts. And I like that the books illustrate that talking can help--talking to a parent, talking to a teacher, talking to a friend, etc.

But at the same time, this quick fix just didn't do it for me. Not really. If I'd read it as a kid, I would have thought all my problems could have been solved if I'd only been allowed to have a pet--a dog, a cat, etc. [That's not exactly true, at Felix's age, I was anxious about dogs.] There aren't really many quick fixes in life. Very rarely does a problem get solved with a magic poof. The story could easily have gone another way--a security object of some sort, a blanket, a teddy bear, a doll, etc. And all of these solutions--a pet, a toy, a blanket, a something--could help a person (a child) learn to cope, learn to self-soothe. There is no easy, quick solution. You can only deal with things one step at a time. You might calm your worries for the night, but sooner or later a new day, a new night is going to bring new worries for you to battle, to conquer. Worries just don't go poof. They have to be slain one at a time. But there is never a "completely finished, I'm perfectly cured, I'll never have another anxious thought as long as I live" moment.

But I mostly liked this one. It was good.

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I love Rosemary Wells. I do. While I don't love, love, love each Wells' book I encounter, I enjoy them all. She's consistently good with a few stand-out titles. One thing you should probably know about Rosemary Wells? Most of her books feature animal characters. (But the animals aren't acting like animals. They're acting like people.) Yoko is a kitten, a gray kitten, a cute kitten. Yoko loves to eat all of her favorite foods. But when she takes these foods to school, sometimes the other students laugh at her or tease her. These favorite foods? Ethnic food--in this case sushi. "What's in your lunch?" asked one of the Franks.

"Ick! It's green! It's seaweed!"
"Oh, no!" said the other Frank. "Don't tell me that's raw fish!"
"Watch out! It's moving!" said Doris.

"Yuck-o-rama!" said Tulip and Fritz.

Of course Yoko is going to be upset. Fortunately, the teacher is watching and seemingly all-knowing. Will having an International Food Day make the children more tolerant and accepting of those that are different? Read and see for yourself.

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Margie Goldsmith contributes a heartwarming tale of how a letter and drawing from Ludwig Bemelmans (Madeline) brightened her dark childhood. (Washington Post)

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