Gregory, the Terrible Eaterwritten by Mitchell Sharmat
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illustrated by Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey
Book review by Sarah Denslow
Ages 4-8
A picky eater kids can relate to!
If you’re a parent, chances are you know (or have known) a poor eater. In Gregory, the Terrible Eater, Mitchell Sharmat puts a humorous spin on a problem almost every parent faces at some point.
Gregory, perhaps like your child, just doesn’t want to eat right. He turns up his nose at all the wonderful, healthy dinners his parents prepare for him. Unlike your child however, Gregory is turning up his nose at things like tin cans and neckties, and craving things like vegetables and eggs.
Gregory, you see, is a goat.
Bewildered, Gregory’s parents take him to see the doctor (a ram, of course). Dr. Ram suggests gradually weaning Gregory off of his “junk food” habit and onto, well, junk, just like you’d expect a goat to eat.
Thus begin the days of Gregory getting to eat string beans, just so long as he finishes his shoelaces, and ice cream, if he also eats the box. Gregory puts up much less protest at this plan than any child I’ve ever known, but then, he is a goat.
The plan briefly backfires when Gregory begins to like junk too much, resulting in a junkyard eating spree and the inevitable stomachache. In the end, however, Gregory learns to balance his eating, and all is well.
Kids love hearing all the silly “foods” in Gregory, the Terrible Eater, as well as listening to the goat-parents scold Gregory for wanting veggies. As far as I know, Gregory, the Terrible Eater has never precipitated a turn around in a picky child’s eating habits, but it is a fun way to introduce the subject of a balanced diet.
While Gregory, the Terrible Eater
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