Picky Mrs. Pickle book review and Prickly Pears
Oh, oh, oh. . .you are going to LOVE this book review. Â If you have not met Picky Mrs. Pickle, then I am thrilled to introduce you. Â We found this book while teaching preschool and it quickly became a storytelling favorite.
Picky Mrs. Pickle
By Christine M. Schneider
I am in awe of author/illustrators who have the talent to pull off both arts beautifully.  Christine M. Schneider is one of those people.  The main character, Mrs Pickle is so lovable.  She only likes things that are green;  food, clothes, decorations, they all must be green.  She is so resistant to change that her family refuses to even try, well everyone except her niece.
Will little Sophie Clair be able to change her aunts picky ways? Â Now you know I won’t give away the ending, but I will tell you some of my favorite things about this particular book.
1. Â This book is put together in a way that makes it a great story to add dramatic voices.
2.  Have a picky kid? The moral is clear, and FANTASTIC!
3. Â Details in the pictures give us a lot to discuss.
4.  Christine M. Schneider has a great website, full of gorgeous pictures and even a pattern, game, puzzle section.
5. Â I was able to come up with a quick, easy and fun lesson to accompany it. . .YIPPEE!!!
Trying Something New
I wanted to give my kids something new to try, as a follow up to Picky Mrs. Pickle.  I thought and thought about it.  Our family is made up of 4 very adventurous eaters.  Big M’s favorite food is avocado and Little M loves mushrooms.  They both BEG for lettuce wraps.  What on earth could I serve them that they have never tasted?  I found it.
I researched Prickly Pears, learned how to pick them out, how to cut them and how to eat them. Â I pulled up a picture of a prickly pear still on a cactus and showed the kids. Â I asked them if they would like to eat one.
We all gobbled up the first few bites, and talked about the taste, smell and texture. Â The prickly pear was gone in minutes.
However, it was a unanimous decision that we did not like it.  I felt like the seeds were a bit much, even though the flavor was pretty good.  We won’t give up!  I’m sure I’ll figure out a different way to prepare it, and we’ll give it another shot.
Tip: 1 .If you have a picky eater, do something really small.  Try cooking a favorite food in a different way.  If your little one loves apples, warm them in the microwave or try a type  they are not used to.  2.  Make it fun and celebrate any steps.  Maybe they don’t take a bite, but they do smell it or hold it.  3. Use a lot of discription with the new food, compare it to foods your kid is already familiar with.
What are you going to try???
This post contains an affiliate link. All opinions are mine… read the fine print.
When I was a kid I remember having Prickly Pear Jelly. I don’t remember if we liked it or not. 🙂
I think I will have to get a copy of that book! 🙂
I bet it would make a great jelly, the flavor was really nice. I think I may try juicing one!
I’ve never seen that book. I’ll have to check it out and send the suggestion on to some friends that do preschool. My kids recently tried Kale, and they liked it! I was very surprised.