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Thank you to Smith Publicity, Inc. for providing a review copy of I Don’t Like to Eat Ants for this “Books for Picky Eaters” post. All opinions are my own.
Picky Eaters
I honestly don’t know if this is a more American thing but anyone who is a parent goes through at least ONE picky eating stage with their kids. It’s usually when they are toddlers. All the sudden your child, who as a baby was eating peas and carrots and anything you would let them try, acts like you are trying to poison them at every meal.
Many people think that the way that we start our kids off with solid food has to do with this. We don’t introduce them to textures and flavor because we give them baby food. However, I didn’t do baby food the second time around. My daughter ate whatever we were eating just in smaller bites or mushed up if needed.
Now all the sudden at age 2 meat is the devil. Hamburgers? Devil food. Vegetables? Not today, Satan!
I will say that my daughter who we were better about introducing regular food to is a bit BETTER of an eater than my son. But that still means that whatever we do, the picky eating stage WILL come at some point to some degree.
So… What do you do?
Using Books to Teach
As you may know, I love to use books to reinforce what we are teaching our kids. The amount of influence a fun, colorfully illustrated picture book can have on a kid’s perspective is incredible.
I love to teach character traits like sharing and obedience with picture books. Children love to see the characters they love going through what they are going through and learning big things (uh… Potty training, anyone?)
So I thought putting together a list of books for picky eaters would be fun!
I Don’t Like to Eat Ants
When I came across the book, I Don’t Like to Eat Ants by JTK Belle, I thought it might be a great idea to try to add some picky eater books into our library! This book was written specifically for picky eaters. It reinforces the idea that you never know whether you like something unless you actually TRY it!
When the book came in the mail, my older son (four) knew it was for them. He asked to read it right then and there.
The anteaters’ long noses and silly tongues were a favorite. He also liked to find the little ants on each page.
Summary
This adorable book is about two anteaters. One has decided that he will no longer eat ants. There are too many other delicious things in the world to eat and ants just aren’t his thing.
The other anteater is appalled because, after all, they are called ANTeaters, for crying out loud! The second anteater refuses to entertain the thought of trying anything other than ants.
By the end, the first anteater convinces the second that there’s no way that he could know whether he likes something unless he tries it. They head over to “Anteater Three’s Peanut Butter & Jelly Deli” to get some food.
When the restaurant is out of ants, the picky eater gives in and orders a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich. Of course, he finds that he LOVES PB&Js and wants more!
Results
Both of my kids loved the book! They loved the pictures and laughed at the thought of eating ants.
I wondered if it would encourage them to try new things. I will say that the more we have read books like this one and watched shows that encouraged trying new foods, I have seen a HUGE improvement in my four-year-old’s eating.
He now tries new things. He will sometimes start with “I don’t like that,” but he still takes a bite. Sometimes that bite is followed with “I love it!” and sometimes he sticks with his original opinion. BUT… He’s TRYING IT!
More Books for Picky Eaters
Pete the Cat: The Three Bite Rule
This book is actually based on the episode of the show that is inspired by the Pete the Cat books on Amazon Prime Video (confused?)
We love this episode of the show (see below in the episode’s description). This book encourages children to try things before deciding on whether they like it or not by following the three-bite rule.
Gregory the Terrible Eater by Mitchell Sharmat
I LOVED this book, growing up! Gregory the goat is an average goat. HOWEVER, he was a terrible eater. When his mom and dad offered him a tin can or bottle cap, food fit for a goat, he turns it down.
He wants fruit, vegetables, bread, and butter! His parents are disgusted with his diet. They take him to the doctor who gives them a plan to help him eat better foods.
Each meal, they add just one new food, such as his favorite, vegetable soup WITH the can. Eventually, Gregory starts to enjoy food that a normal goat would like.
The book’s silly way of going from “healthy” food to junk is entertaining, but kids learn that when they need to learn to eat better, one good strategy is to try a little bit at a time.
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
How could we not include this classic picky eater book? The entire book is about refusing to eat the green eggs and ham, only to find at the end that green eggs and ham are delicious!
The book reinforces the idea that we have to try things before we can decide if we like them or not.
Cookbooks for Kids!
Try allowing your child to explore food with a cookbook! Kids are more eager to try new foods when they were the ones who made it! They get excited to try out their own creations.
There are so many kids’ cookbooks out there to try! Check out some of the great options below!
How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food? by Jane Yolen
I used to always read How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? to my son. I thought it was adorable!
We were at Barnes and Noble and I saw that there were other books by the same author with the same idea! When I saw How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food, I thought, “perfect!”
With this book, a list of behaviors that are not desirable are listed asking if that’s how Dinosaurs act. In the end, it’s said that no, this is NOT how Dinosaurs act.
Although this book doesn’t directly talk about trying new food, it talks about good manners and that the dinosaur eats all that is given to him with a smile and tries at least a bite of every new food.
Check out the other great “How Do Dinosaurs…” books!
DW the Picky Eater by Marc Brown
DW is a picky eater! She won’t eat anything with eyes, pickles, and a list of many other things. She even throws a tantrum when given something she doesn’t eat! Especially with spinach.
After throwing a tantrum at a restaurant, her parents decide that she is not allowed to go to restaurants. She has to stay home with the babysitter who only allows carrot sticks for a snack and sends her to bed early.
When DW starts to feel left out, she decides that she will try new foods so that she can go to Grandma’s birthday dinner with the family. She orders a pot pie and LOVES it! When her parents ask how to make it, the waiter tells her to use pie pastry and fill it with lots and lots of SPINACH!
Bonus: TV Episodes/Videos
Pete the Cat: Three Bite Rule (Season 1, Episode 2)
My son LOVES Pete the Cat books. We were browsing through Amazon Prime videos recently and of course, he spotted the show! I didn’t know that this existed, so we started watching it right away!
The show is pretty cute with many of the episodes based on the books. “The Three Bite Rule” encourages kids to try new foods before deciding that they don’t like it. What I like about this video is that the character does not end up liking everything that he tries. But the point is made that it was just a few bites.
“Daniel Tiger: Be a Vegetable Taster! Daniel Tries a New Food” (Season 2, Episode 6)
“Arthur: DW The Picky Eater (Season 2, Episode 3)”
DW hates spinach… and ONLY the RED freezie pops. Fish also smells funny…
To put it plainly, she’s a picky eater! She WILL eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but without the crust. Also ice cream and cake (of course)!
After a restaurant mishap, DW is told she does not get to go to any more restaurants until she learns to eat what’s in front of her. This means that Grandma has decided to have her birthday dinner at home instead of at the special restaurant that was planned.
Arthur cooks up a plan to teach his sister how to eat what’s in front of her.
“Chopped” Or other Cooking Competition Shows
I know it sounds kind of weird, but my son LOVES watching Chopped with my husband and me. We watch all the different foods get made and talk about how yummy it all looks.
Often he would say a dish looked really yummy that had vegetables and all kinds of things on it. Presentation really is important, huh?
It may help a picky eater be more adventurous. It may not. Worth a shot, right?
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