The Picky Eater

PreS-Gr 1–Though Piper is a piglet with many talents, she is “NOT a good eater.” She requires all her food to begin with the letter “P.” Her parents beg her to “please, eat five bites” at each meal, until one day her mother has had enough. She tells Piper that she can choose to forgo her dinner, but she must not say a word about her preferred palate. After a week of this, Piper is hungry and miraculously changes her pattern, trying new foods quietly but insisting that she will still only wear “pink and purple.” Clester’s illustrations give Piper personality and showcase her piggy pizzazz, but Parkinson’s contrived storyline is both unrealistic and potentially harmful for families struggling with food avoidance. Depicting mealtime as a battle that pits Piper against her parents, where the resolution is their victory over her food preferences, doesn’t show any originality or cooperation.