“If you want to grow up to be a big, strong pea, you have to eat your candy.”

“If you want to grow up to be a wise owl, you must stay up late.”

Little Pea; Little Hoot

Two common battles among us parents are getting our kids to eat right and sleep tight. Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Jen Corace use a bit of “reverse psychology” and take a humorous twist that captive kids. I’m testing it out on my kids by reading these two books often to them!

Introducing Our Two Featured Friends: Little Pea; Little Hoot
Written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Illustrated by Jen Corace

Little Pea loves everything about his life except one thing, dinner! His parents make him eat something he hates, candy. 5 pieces of candy every day. But, the good part is that when he is done, he gets dessert:

“Little Pea couldn’t wait to see what it was.
‘Spinach!’ squealed Little Pea. ‘My favorite!’
Little Pea licked his dessert plate clean. . .

And they lived hap-pea-ly ever after.”

Little Hoot is a happy little owl, but there is one thing he does not like, bedtime. His parents make him stay up late and play. Little owl begs his parents to let him go to bed like his friends get to do, but as an owl, he must stay up late.

 ” ‘Can I stop playing now?’ pleaded Little Hoot.
‘Ten more minutes of playing, Mister. And please don’t ask me again.’
‘Alright,’ the young owl scowled . . .

‘There. I played for one whole hour. Now can I go to bed?’
‘Yes, now you can go to bed. But . . .’
‘But wait!’ stalled Mama Owl. ‘What about a bedtime story?’
‘And don’t forget about a glass of water!’ added Papa Owl. . . .

Little Hoot was already fast asleep. . .
And they owl lived happily ever after . . .”

Although I wouldn’t consider these concept books, I like how Little Pea teaches the days of the week and colors by the different candy he has to eat each day. Little Hoot teaches counting one to ten by the different activities he has to do before bed. The irony is awesome! Now I need one for getting our kids to work together well. Maybe, “Little Ant”?!

Inviting You to Become FRIENDS with Little Pea & Little Hoot:
Feel, Relate, Imagine, Explore, Navigate, Develop, Share

Select a couple of questions and activities to do with your kids or class:

F- How do you feel about eating good-for-you-food? How do you feel when you eat lots of candy? How do you feel about going to bed at a good time so you get a full night’s sleep? How do you feel when you stay up too late?

R- Can you relate to Little Pea wanting to eat spinach? What healthy foods do you eat?
Can you relate to Little Hoot wanting to go to bed early? What time do you go to bed?

I- Imagine you could eat anything you wanted for one dinner. What would you pick?
Imagine you could stay up as late as you wanted for one night? What fun things would you do?

E- Explore the food pyramid and make a meal plan for a day that fits within healthy guidelines. Explore foods you normally may not eat by picking up some new items from the produce section. Explore HealthyEats.com :
How to Dress Up Frozen Broccoli, Spinach and Peas: http://ow.ly/hNHsb

N- Navigate through some meal time and bed time difficulties and try to come up with some creative solutions together as a family or class.

D- Develop another title and idea for a book like this one by taking something you may not like to do and finding a character that wants to do it: For example, what about an ant that wants to work hard, but his parents make him take a break.

S- Share what part of these books you like the most.

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