Gregory, the Terrible Eater

October has been designated Vegetable Awareness Month and today also marks National Dessert Day. Certainly, I embrace both causes. The book of the day, Gregory, the Terrible Eater by Mitchell Sharmat, brings these two holidays together in a humorous and totally satisfying story.

Like many children, Gregory was a fussy eater; he wants only fruits, vegetables, eggs, fish, bread, and butter. He sounds, of course, like many a parents’ dream. But such is not the case—mainly because Gregory is a young goat. His parents excuse him from the table, and then eat the newspaper in silence. So, they take their child to the knowing Dr. Ram, who has some age-old wisdom to share. Just introduce one new food each day until Gregory eats everything!

So crafty parents that they are, they throw a shoelace into the spaghetti or a rubber heel in the string beans. And slowly Gregory develops a species-appropriate taste. Gregory, in fact, takes the term omnivore to a whole new level. After his parents go to the dump for food, he consumes eight flat tires, a barber pole, a violin, and half of a car. The latter gives him so much trouble that he reverts to his old vegetable meals—but with some wax paper thrown in for good measure.

Jose Aruego, an American born in the Philippines, and his former wife, Ariane Dewey, have taken this very clever text and added wonderful details of Gregory thinking about and consuming all kinds of food. Collaborators on many titles, Jose designs the page layout and creates the strong and energetic line drawings, while Ariane fills them in with color washes. This method has worked for them, and in books like Gregory, the Terrible Eater their partnership has worked for millions of children.

Now, weren’t we also supposed to be talking about desserts today? Well, the book has one of the funniest lines I can think of in a children’s book about desserts. Gregory asks Father Goat what they are having for dessert and here’s the answer he gets: “Ice cream,” said Father Goat. “But you have to eat the box, too.”

So if you have a picky eater who you want to entertain, or you just want to laugh at the antics of Gregory and his goat family, pick up this book today. You might even want to enjoy this light frothy concoction with desert—and, of course, you really don’t have to eat the box!

Here’s a page from Gregory the Terrible Eater: