decision making, one pea at a time
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NO PEAS FOR NELLIE
by Chris Demarest - Macmillan, originally published 1988
ages 0 to 4 years / funny
When my children were little, we did Joy School and No Peas For Nellie was recommended by them. I think it was for the joy of decision making. But in the end I think we’ve liked this book for so long because it’s funny.
Nellie—obviously—does not want to eat her peas.
And as you can see, our newest generation is not too fussed about them either!
Nellie comes up with a list of weird and wonderful things she would rather eat.
And, all the while, she eats her peas one by one!
Many a new dinner at our house has been met by a child repeating Nellie’s refrain:
‘I’d rather eat …’
while gingerly trying one mouthful at a time. The last page is my favourite:
After finally getting through all those peas Nellie’s father asks her to drink her milk and Nellie replies:
"You know what? There are other things I would rather drink."
The illustrations are cute. They're full of very alarmed looking African animals and Nellie in an explorer’s hat. Quite cartoon–esque. It might be a little hard to find No Peas for Nellie because it was first published in 1988, but it's definitely worth a library-ask.
