Food Archives - Ivy's Library

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Food

Tue
07 ^th

NERP! by Sarah Lynne Reul

Ivy and I both love books that are a little bit crazy, so when NERP! landed in our laps we instantly fell in love. Every single word of the story is quite literally utter nonsense, but somehow the whole thing makes perfect sense!

The premise will be very familiar to any parents out there with picky eaters. We see an enthusiastic mum and dad present their child with a series of lovingly prepared dishes in the hope that they might actually eat something, but nothing is quite right.

The frizzle frazzle hotchy potch? NERP! Mushy gushy bloobarsh? NERP! Even the garble snarfy barflecrunch and the yuckaroni smackintosh are rejected with a massive NERP! Will anything make this pesky child say YERP or SLURP?

Thu
02 ^nd

Avocado Asks: What Am I? by Momoko Abe

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Avocado lives on the fruit and vegetable aisle at the supermarket. Life is nice and simple until one day the nature of his whole existence is thrown in to question by a small child. She points at him and asks her mum whether an avocado is a fruit or a vegetable.

Suddenly Avocado is thrown in to confusion. He doesnt know the answer. How can he not know who he really is? Determined to dscover his true identity, Avocado turns to his friends for help.

First stop is the vegetables, who decide he can’t possibly be one of them because he’s not leafy or crunchy and he has a big stone in his middle like a fruit. So next he visits the fruit, but they say he’s not one of them either. He’s not sweet or juicy and he wouldn’t taste right in a fruit salad.

Fri
04 ^th

Nope. Never. Not For Me! by Samantha Cotterill

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Ivy is an extremely picky eater so I like to keep an eye out for books which might encourage her to expand her tastes a little. Results are generally a bit hit and miss but we have had some success with this one so I wanted to share it with you.

The child in the story loves dinosaurs but absolutely does not like broccoli! She refuses to try it or even touch it because she thinks it looks yucky. But mum steps in with a thought which makes her think twice. She cleverly points out that broccoli looks like tiny trees and dinosaurs like to eat trees…

The girl (who is dressed in a dinosaur costume) asks if her toy dinosaur can try it first – and together they take baby steps towards a first mouthful of broccoli.

Wed
30 ^th

Buddy’s Pancakes by Judy Skidmore, Sheju Adiyatiparambil-John & Vanessa Arduini

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We have recently discovered Parakeet Books – a small independent publisher whose focus is on stories which are truly inclusive – and we LOVE their ethos. Our favourite title so far is Buddy’s Pancakes, a story which will be very familiar to parents of fussy toddlers (us included!).

Buddy is a little boy who is far more interested in playing than eating. At breakfast time his dad asks him if he would like some pancakes and the answer is a resounding no.

As Buddy plays, his dad serves up food to the rest of the family and we see how everyone likes their pancakes a different way. Granny likes lemon and honey, Grandad likes blueberries, whilst Mummy prefers to have hers with slices of banana. Each time a new variation is suggested, they ask Buddy if he would like some but he always replies that he’s not hungry.

Thu
24 ^th

Chocolate Mousse For Greedy Goose By Julia Donaldson & Nick Sharratt

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The animals in this story are about to sit down for dinner, but nothing about this particular meal is going to be straightforward.

Chimp’s food is too hot, Duck won’t eat his carrots, Goose has forgotten his manners, Hyena is licking the bowl and Moth is busy nibbling on the wash cloth. It’s mayhem!

Finally the plates are empty – but will the naughty animals help clean up after themselves or do they have other ideas?

This brightly-coloured board book is perfect for younger toddlers, especially if they are picky eaters (like Ivy!) or are still learning the rules of the dinner table. They rhyme is bouncy and fun and we love the detail in the pictures. Ivy likes to point out the fact that the kangaroo has popped some carrots in her pouch for later!

Sat
27 ^th

Piranhas Don’t Eat Bananas By Aaron Blabey

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Brian is a piranha who loves nothing more than to tuck in to some fruit and veg – but his piranha friends think he’s bonkers because their favourite pastime is nibbling on tasty humans.

Brian’s attempts at converting them fall on deaf ears and soon they’re fed up with him waving bananas and plums in front of their faces. He agrees to stop but on one condition – they need to actually taste one of his fruit and veg platters. Will he be able to convince them to swap knees for peas or will they continue with their carnivorous ways?

Ivy finds this book hilarious, especially as it features the word ‘bum’. Always a winner with toddlers!

Fri
27 ^th

Lunchtime By Rebecca Cobb

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This beautifully illustrated book by Rebecca Cobb is perfect for all of you parents out there who (like us!) struggle to get your child interested in sitting down and eating their meals.

The little girl in the story is very busy painting and playing with her toys, so when her mums calls her to tell her that lunch is ready she really doesn’t want to go and eat. She’s having far too much fun to stop for boring old food! Reluctantly she leaves what she’s doing and sits and stares at her lunch, looking grumpy, without eating a bite.

But then she spots a crocodile under the table. Then a bear. Then a wolf. The three fierce animals are VERY interested in her lunch, explaining that her soup, apple and sandwich are much more tasty than little children (who actually taste pretty disgusting). They gobble up her lunch and then thank her heartily for the lovely meal.

Tue
29 ^th

Ten Fat Sausages by Michelle Robinson & Tor Freeman

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Most of you will be familiar with the old children’s counting song about ten sausages in a pan. The sausages in this book have obviously heard it too as they absolutely refuse to go POP or BANG!

Just like the song, the story starts with ten fat sausages sizzling in a pan and there is lots of counting – but that’s where the similarity ends. These sausages have minds of their own and they are on a mission to fight back! Some do unfortunately still go POP but the others manage to escape the pan and make a run for freedom. The problem is that the kitchen turns out to be way more dangerous than they anticipated!

Can they escape their fate or will they still end up as lunch?