Nine stars
Many parents have likely been face with the struggle of a hungry child who will not eat what is provided to them. Adam Mansbach helps address the issue once more in a children’s book format, but is likely best left away from children’s eyes and ears. Using a rhyming prose, Mansbach explains the numerous excuses and antics children undertake to refuse food or offer outlandish expectations. Dripping with anger, frustration and eventually an exasperation sauce, the book is peppered with delightful and funny examples while the narrator begs for a solution.
The brevity of the story is the point. Mansbach uses rhymes to show how escalation pits parents and children against one another. One could swap other family members, guardians, or even babysitters with the narrator role and the impact remains the same. Thankfully, I did not suffer through this with Neo, though I have been witness to many struggles with other children over the years. This allowed me a chance to laugh at all that has been going on, while also trying to rationalise not pushing a child to starvation, scurvy, or intervention by outside sources.
Kudos, Mr. Mansbach, for letting me laugh a bit as I remember the struggle is fuckin’ real!
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