Tuesday Tales: Fussy Freya (Written By: Katharine Quarmby; Illustrated by: Piet Grobler)
October 27, 2009 in Art activities, Books with Science Content, Creative Writing activities, Elementary Educators, Grobler Piet, Making Personal Connections, Personal Connections, Preschool to 1st grade teachers, Shared Writing, Tuesday Tales Tags: books about food, fussy eaters, Fussy Freya, Katharine Quarmby, picture books about nutrition, Piet Grobler
photo by H Dickins www.flickr.com
I picked up this book at the library immediately because most parents I know, including myself and my husband, deal with a fussy eater. My stepson is not terrible, but there’s still some days when he will throw me for a loop over something he won’t eat. That’s kind of what happens to Freya’s parents in this book. I think this book is an hysterical way to get kids to go back to eating foods they decided they didn’t like anymore, but some parents might find it a bit extreme in dealing with fussy eaters. Read on . . .
*Picture book for preschoolers through second graders
*Young girl as main character
*Rating: Fussy Freya is a great book for talking to kids about eating and not being a picky eater. The illustrations are super cute and fun!
Short, short summary: Katharine Quarmby tells Freya’s tale of being a fussy eater in rhyme with some repeatable text. Fussy Freya is great for a read aloud in a classroom, at a library story time, or before bedtime. Freya used to eat all her food; but one day, she decides that she is not going to eat her mum’s dhal and rice, even though her baby brother and the cat eat every spicy bite. She says some not-so-nice things to her mum and does not eat anything her mum puts in front of her. She throws fits–throwing fish on the floor, which the cat loves, of course. But soon, her mum and dad have had enough, and so Mum calls Grandma. Grandma tells Mum that she acted the same way when she was three years old, and Grandma says, “Send her to me!” When Freya goes to Grandma’s house, she’s sure she will get anything she wants–candy and sweets, especially. But she is not prepared for the lesson that Grandpa and Grandma teach Freya about the delicious food she could be getting at her parents’ house. Cute idea and the illustrations in Fussy Freya are the type that children can look at again and again and find new stuff while teaching a small lesson to fussy eaters.
So, what do I do with this book?
1. Ask children to draw a collage of their favorite foods. (You could also have them cut pictures out of magazines.) Once children have their collages made, ask them to write a short poem (with a rhyming 2nd and 4th line like in Fussy Freya) about one of their favorite foods (or all of them). If you have young students, you could write one poem together as a class that they could copy, or they could write a poem at home with their families. Display the collages and the poems around the room.
2. This is a great book for starting a discussion with students about manners since Freya displays so many bad manners throughout the book. You can easily use Fussy Freya as part of character education. Have fun with it! Maybe students can even role play examples of good and bad manners.
3. This is also a great book to use for teaching about the Food Pyramid and healthy eating. The United States Department of Agriculture has many resources for teachers to talk with students of all ages about nutrition and healthy eating. Click the link and check them out!
Before I was in first grade, I was Fussy Margo. My mom made me all sorts of separate meals, so I didn’t have to eat what my parents were eating. Then in first grade, my teacher had a food challenge. We got a star on a chart for each new food we tried. I loved this contest and came in 2nd place. Since then, I haven’t been quite as fussy. So, it’s an idea if you have some fussy eaters around you.
Any more ideas? Let us know!