Jack & The Hungry Giant: Eat Right With MyPlate by Loreen Leedy
HELPING KIDS TO MAKE HEALTHY CHOICES AND EAT RIGHT
Jack & the Hungry Giant: Eat Right with MyPlate, (Holiday House, $16.95, ages 4-8 written and illustrated by Loreen Leedy, is reviewed by Rita Zobayan.
Teaching kids about nutrition is an important, if somewhat difficult, task. Young kids might understand the need to eat healthily, but don’t necessarily want to. To help parents and nutrition teachers with this endeavor, Loreen Leedy has written Jack & the Hungry Giant: Eat Right with MyPlate. At 32 pages, Jack & the Hungry Giant: Eat Right with MyPlate is long enough to present the necessary information and short enough to keep the attention of young readers.
Just like in the fairy tale, Jack climbs the beanstalk and meets a hungry giant. This giant is named Waldorf and he isn’t interested in eating Jack. Nope, he is, in fact, quite the kitchen connoisseur and is far more engaged in preparing a feast for his wife Zofia. Jack joins him in the kitchen, and together they transform vegetables, fruit, grains, protein, and dairy items into plates of delicious and healthy meals. During the process, Waldorf and Jack helpfully name the foods in each of these categories and explain the concept of the nutrition plate. (The plate replaced the food pyramid in 2011. More information on the food plate can be found at choosemyplate.gov.) They also show options for exercise, another important component of keeping healthy.
The artwork is bright and bold. Most of the book is illustrated with cartoonish style drawings. Peppered along the way are (what look like) scanned images of food items, such as brown rice, bran cereal, cottage cheese, and lettuce. Be sure to keep an eye on Waldorf and Zofia’s wily orange-striped tiger cat!
Jack & the Hungry Giant: Eat Right with MyPlate is a good start to eating right!