Fussy Freda

A story that every parent can relate to - a toddler who refuses to eat! As parents we all tell those little white lies to our children, in vain attempts to try and get them to do something - eat vegetables or fruit, not to sit so close to the television, to go to bed on time.... Jarman and Blunt (authors) have cleverly used these myths to engage your children with a colourful tale involving one of those little white lies. Fussy Freda tells the story of a little girl - Freda - who just will not eat.... 'But it didn't matter what they cooked, Freda only shouted 'Yuk! Yuk! Yuk!'.' Freda is a very stubborn little girl (as all toddlers are) and her parents valiantly try every method possible - puppets, dressing up, fancy recipes - to try and get her to eat something; but still Freda refuses to eat. That is until one day Freda begins to shrink, becoming so small the cat terrorises her. Freda yells 'Give me something to eat' and she eats and eats and eats until she grows back to her normal size. Freda soon realises the error of her ways and enjoys eating, so much so that she even begins cooking herself and writing her own recipe book. A brilliantly colourful tale that had my toddlers - ages two and four - in hysterics. The illustrations are very engaging and animate the varying emotions of Freda and her parents with wonderful clarity. This story soon became a firm favourite in our house with my son reading along shouting 'Yuk! Yuk! Yuk!'. Interestingly the message stuck with my four year old as he recently commented when another child who was refusing to eat - 'Shall we call her Freda? Watch out, you might shrink if you don't eat!' proving that this simple children's tale had an impact on his awareness of the importance of eating healthily. A humorous tale which will have all the family giggling as Freda throws another strop and soon begins to shrink. Picture book / Ages 2+ / Reviewed by Joanna Hewish, teacher.

Suggested Reading Age 3+