The Seven Silly Eaters - Book Review

The other night at book club we started talking about our favorite children's story books. After all, we were supposed to read Revolutionaries and had all gotten stuck/bored and given up around the first chapter. We clearly had to talk about something else. During our conversation, I felt that earlier passion I used to have for story books. I rushed upstairs and found my favorite on the shelf in the boys' bedroom, then read it aloud to the other ladies.

It's been some time since I've reviewed a story book and I've mentioned this particular book once before years ago before anyone actually read my blog. You can check out the earlier review along with some of my other favorites **here**.

The Seven Silly Eaters by Mary Ann Hoberman and illustrated by Marla Frazee was one of the first picture books I purchased when Neal was first born. A friend had shared it with me and I instantly fell in love. It's remained one of my favorites even after it was joined on the book shelf by hundreds of children's books.

A story about seven picky eaters and their exhausted mom is whimsical and clever. Though it is written in rhyme please avoid the trap of reading it in a sing-song voice. The story will make so much more sense if you pay attention to the punctuation. The illustrations add so much more to the story. Even though the father of this large family is never mentioned in the poetry, he plays a large role in each illustration. Also, I covet the lovely lake-front property and rustic cabin where the Peters family lives.

As a fan of large families, I am especially fond of this amusing, yet lovely story. Every mother will recognize the initial joy followed by the overwhelming feelings of frustration. And children might just see themselves in the picky eaters. Yet the story exudes love, service and joy and ultimately a spirit of teamwork and cooperation.

The Seven Silly Eaters was published in 1997 but if you haven't read this wonderful book before, track it down and enjoy it with your children.