Seven Silly Eaters by Mary Ann Hoberman

If I had to guess, I would say Seven Silly Eaters is my mom's favorite picture book. She checked it out from the library for the first time when I was about 12 or 13, and it was probably not even three weeks before a copy was on our bookshelf. I loved it then because it was funny. I love it now for the same reason my mom did, for it's accurate and endearing portrayal of family life (particularly BIG family life), with both its messy chaos and permeating love and warmth.

The story is about a family whose children take picky eating to the max. Each of the Peters children will only eat a single, very particular food item. (Not hot or cold but WARM milk, homemade applesauce, perfectly smooth oatmeal, etc.) With each additional child, Mrs. Peters grows steadily more frazzled as she valiantly struggles to meet her kids' outlandish food requests. At the climax of the story, the seven kids attempt to make their mother a birthday surprise, which at first seems to go horribly wrong, but then turns out to be the solution to the Peters family's mealtime woes.

Mary Ann Hoberman tells her story in verse, and the rhyming words and perfect rhythm makes it both fun to read and easy to memorize. The text itself is delightful, but it's Marla Frazee's illustrations that really give the story life. You learn from the text that Mrs. Peters is a loving, overly-patient mother: from the illustrations, you learn that she has wild, curly black hair, plays the cello, and stands a head taller than her husband. Mr. Peters isn't even mentioned in the text of the story, but from the pictures, you learn that he has a full blonde beard, loves to play with his kids, and definitely does his fair share around the house. You learn that Peter loves to read, Lucy is a bit of a diva, Jack is always climbing things, Mac is softhearted, Mary Lou is the laid-back one, and Fran and Flo are the trouble-makers. And the house. Everything about the house, from the beautiful lakeside view, to the old-fashioned kitchen with it's wood-burning stove and cute breakfast nook, to the upstairs loft where all seven kids sleep, makes you want to live there too. It's impossible not to fall in love with the Peters family and their crazy, happy home.

Seven Silly Eaters is one of those rare books that perfectly combines silly, kid-approved humor with a heartwarming message of family love and devotion. Check it out today. You won't regret it!