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Too Pickley!
Too wrinkly, too squishy, too fruity, too fishy!
It's time to eat, but somebody doesn't like a single item on his plate. What's a picky eater to do?
This romping text and stylishly bold art make for a delectable board book. Parents (and the picky eaters they love) will recognize themselves in the hilarious antics played out here, while the ending brings reassurance-and with a little luck, a clean plate.
It's time to eat, but somebody doesn't like a single item on his plate. What's a picky eater to do?
This romping text and stylishly bold art make for a delectable board book. Parents (and the picky eaters they love) will recognize themselves in the hilarious antics played out here, while the ending brings reassurance-and with a little luck, a clean plate.
26 pages, Board Book
First published July 5, 2010
2 people are currently reading
280 people want to read
About the author
Jean Reidy
20 books82 followersJean Reidy’s bestselling and award-winning picture books have earned their spots as favorites among readers and listeners of all ages and from all over the world. She is honored to be a three-time winner of the Colorado Book Award, a Parent’s Choice Gold Award Winner, a Charlotte Zolotow Honor winner and recognized on “Best of” lists by School Library Journal, the New York Times, NPR and Amazon. Jean writes from her home in Chicago where she lives just a short walk from her neighborhood library … which she visits nearly every day.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
January 22, 2011
I thought it was good until the ending. What, exactly, did he enjoy eating? We are not shown that.
February 4, 2020
I wanted to like it, but it felt (quite honestly) like a page was missing. I actually checked to see if something had been torn or had fallen out - kids books in the library do have that happen from time to time. I mean, he goes straight from Pee-Yooey to Yummy All Done. Nothing about giving something a taste, you might like it if you try it, etc. Seriously, what did he actually eat??
The biggest plus in the story was the illustrations. The hamster is adorable, especially with his little napkin/neckerchief/bib. And the boy's facial expressions are great. So that's what makes this a 2 star rating instead of 1. A shame, because with a little more of a clear step between Pee-Yooey to Yummy All Done, this would have easily been 4 stars.
I might still use it in a storytime on food, and just fill in that step of the story myself. Lots of potential for silly faces with all the Too foods. Then talk to the kids a moment about trying new foods, even if they seem Too Pickley - you might surprise yourself and find something new and delicious. Then you really are at Yummy All Done!
The biggest plus in the story was the illustrations. The hamster is adorable, especially with his little napkin/neckerchief/bib. And the boy's facial expressions are great. So that's what makes this a 2 star rating instead of 1. A shame, because with a little more of a clear step between Pee-Yooey to Yummy All Done, this would have easily been 4 stars.
I might still use it in a storytime on food, and just fill in that step of the story myself. Lots of potential for silly faces with all the Too foods. Then talk to the kids a moment about trying new foods, even if they seem Too Pickley - you might surprise yourself and find something new and delicious. Then you really are at Yummy All Done!
June 27, 2017
Sometimes you're just not in the mood to eat anything. Turns out, you wanna eat everything. I get it.
November 22, 2013
I know I'm in the minority here, but this just didn't work for either of us. As the adult, I found the boy's expressions entertaining, and the hamster very cute, but was confused by the end, even going back to make sure I hadn't skipped a page which explained what the boy had eaten. The child wasn't impressed either. I'm only giving it 2 stars because of the hamster!
September 24, 2012
Not a fan. It promotes picky eating and the resolve should have been you don't know how it tastes if you don't try it.
July 7, 2017
You don't find out what the kid is willing to eat!
April 15, 2019
Summarizes picky eaters beautifully through simple text and realistic illustrations.
October 11, 2022
This is a very simple book, but I have no issue with that. To begin with, the title is not very indicative of the content. The story has very little to do with pickles (the reason I chose to read this book -- I had hoped it may be a good fit for my letter P-themed storytime) and is actually about a boy who doesn't want to eat anything. The ending was odd also; readers aren't shown what the boy actually enjoyed eating. There's just an empty plate with remnants of what is presumably carrots.
August 31, 2023
The ending was sudden and did not match up with the rest of the book. The boy spends 99% of the book disgusted with the textures and then randomly finishes with a “yummy all done!”. We don’t see what is eaten or what led to this change.
July 3, 2025
A picky little boy goes through countless foods and says they are "too this" or "too that." This doesn't fly at our house. You get the meal I worked hard to make from scratch, I don't make anything else, and you have to try a bite.
July 21, 2018
I loved hearing Carter "read" this book when he was little!
November 6, 2018
My 3 year old has this book memorized. He really embraces it as a picky eater.
November 5, 2019
A picky eater complaining about food being TOO EVERYTHING.
Find out here.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rd8ke...
Find out here.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rd8ke...
November 6, 2019
Super short, and super easy read with funny illustrations. *Important note: Nothing can be too pickley, ever.
February 7, 2021
Bought the book as a preschool teacher. Simple story, only issue it only teaches kids to not try new foods. Its confusing because at the end he eats it all. So did he change his mind at the end?
August 25, 2022
Love the illustrations.
May 6, 2025
Thought it would be a cute book but I feel like it just gave her ideas of how to be picky with food. She wasn't super interested in book either.
May 27, 2025
I like the rhyming and the illustrations, but it felt really negative toward all foods, except on the very last page where he clearly enjoys something, but the reader doesn't get to know what.
December 4, 2016
This child can find something to complain about with just about any food. The book does have some good descriptive vocabulary for young readers BUT with a class full of picky eaters, I feel this book encourages them to find a reason not to eat something.
The end of the book shows a clean plate so I guess he learns to eat his food after all.
The end of the book shows a clean plate so I guess he learns to eat his food after all.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 22, 2012
1. Rating: 5
2. A book review by Children's Literature says, "The winning team that addressed the frustrations of the fashion-fussy in Too Purpley! returns here to catalog the complaints of the picky eater. After first bellowing, "I'm hungry!" the little boy narrator rejects a variety of food offerings as "too wrinkly" (raisins), "too squishy" (a plump tomato), "too slimy" (snails), and "too slurpy" (soup). Other foods are rejected for their fruitiness, fishiness, stringiness, crunchiness, stickiness, and other unacceptable features, until he somehow manages to find something he's willing to eat (unidentified in text or art, but inviting enjoyable reader speculation). A mere 47 well-chosen words add up to a clever and lively text, complemented by Leloup's bright, bold, exuberant pictures that supply plenty of action and expression to supplement Reidy's list of food grievances, all too comically familiar to the despairing parents and caregivers of picky eaters everywhere."
3. The colorful two-page spreads in this book are just great. It is predictable book about a boy that is picky, picky, picky. He doesn’t like raisins because they’re “too wrinkly” and he doesn’t like spaghetti because it’s “too stringy,” lollipops are “too licky” and pizza is “too cheesy.” He’s got an excuse for why he doesn’t like multiple foods that I think a lot of students can relate to. I definitely recommend this for teachers of kindergarteners for a read-aloud and for beginning readers in first grade.
2. A book review by Children's Literature says, "The winning team that addressed the frustrations of the fashion-fussy in Too Purpley! returns here to catalog the complaints of the picky eater. After first bellowing, "I'm hungry!" the little boy narrator rejects a variety of food offerings as "too wrinkly" (raisins), "too squishy" (a plump tomato), "too slimy" (snails), and "too slurpy" (soup). Other foods are rejected for their fruitiness, fishiness, stringiness, crunchiness, stickiness, and other unacceptable features, until he somehow manages to find something he's willing to eat (unidentified in text or art, but inviting enjoyable reader speculation). A mere 47 well-chosen words add up to a clever and lively text, complemented by Leloup's bright, bold, exuberant pictures that supply plenty of action and expression to supplement Reidy's list of food grievances, all too comically familiar to the despairing parents and caregivers of picky eaters everywhere."
3. The colorful two-page spreads in this book are just great. It is predictable book about a boy that is picky, picky, picky. He doesn’t like raisins because they’re “too wrinkly” and he doesn’t like spaghetti because it’s “too stringy,” lollipops are “too licky” and pizza is “too cheesy.” He’s got an excuse for why he doesn’t like multiple foods that I think a lot of students can relate to. I definitely recommend this for teachers of kindergarteners for a read-aloud and for beginning readers in first grade.
July 30, 2014
Cute but I prefer "Too Purpley." I think because I can enjoy a picky dresser better than I can a picky eater. Plus, our copy smells like a skunk got to it, so I could not really get close to it to enjoy looking at the pictures. I'm sure it's great and I will recommend it for the fun of it--just perhaps not the copy I read! Will work in a storytime--perhaps the food one I have coming up. Could be a lot of fun pretending to eat all of those foods and making our "too" faces. I just can't do so with this copy!!
I'm also trying to figure out exactly what the child ended up eating at the end. Did my avoidance of the skunk smell make me miss that?
7/30/14 Used this as my opener for a Food theme in preschool ST. It went well, but I think that may be because I accidentally had an older crowd (and hardly any of my regulars!) and they were able to pick up when I asked what the boy was eating. I wasn't wrong, I got to the end and still had no clue what he ate, so I asked the kids what they thought he ate. Went well.
I'm also trying to figure out exactly what the child ended up eating at the end. Did my avoidance of the skunk smell make me miss that?
7/30/14 Used this as my opener for a Food theme in preschool ST. It went well, but I think that may be because I accidentally had an older crowd (and hardly any of my regulars!) and they were able to pick up when I asked what the boy was eating. I wasn't wrong, I got to the end and still had no clue what he ate, so I asked the kids what they thought he ate. Went well.
June 15, 2010
I received this book in a First Reads Giveaway and it arrived just as my 4-year-old was making a fuss and insisting on *no sauce* for her spaghetti. Having a new book snapped her out of it! She read it and laughed at the picky little boy who searched and searched for something eat, turning down things that were too fizzy or gooey or pickley. The pictures are charming. The text is simple--just right for a beginner reader but also fun to read out loud to your child. I wish I could say that the book changed my daughter's mind about having spaghetti sauce, but it didn't. She did, however, manage a few bites of zucchini.
January 25, 2013
Too Pickley is a cute children’s bored book. The little boy in the story is a very picky eater. Everything that gets set down in front of him, he finds fault with. I am sure some children and parents can definitely identify with this. Some of the words are silly and made up, which is guaranteed to get a chuckle out of a child. I like that the book rhymes. Books that rhyme usually hold children’s attention longer. The hamster that is with the boy in every illustration makes me laugh. In the end, the boy gives up on being a picky eater and eats everything. I feel bad for his stomach ache later. I recommend this book for children three and older.
March 18, 2013
This little boy doesn't want anything that's too too -- too burpy, too sticky, too freezy! Eventually, though, he manages to find something that's too yummy to resist!
These computer-generated illustrations look a little too slick for my personal tastes, but they're quite well done. The boy and his (hamster? bear?) friend have excellent expressions on their faces, and their food is identifiable and silly.
This book is really short and the rhyming text would make it a great read aloud for a food storytime for toddlers.
These computer-generated illustrations look a little too slick for my personal tastes, but they're quite well done. The boy and his (hamster? bear?) friend have excellent expressions on their faces, and their food is identifiable and silly.
This book is really short and the rhyming text would make it a great read aloud for a food storytime for toddlers.
January 31, 2013
This book is great because it teaches children that there is nothing wrong with having an opinion about certain foods. It also teaches children that if you do not like something you can go on to the next food. It teaches children how to voice that opinion like saying that it was too spicy or too cheesy.
Learning Extension: Let children pretend or bring in food and let them express themselves on how the feel about the new foods.
Learning Extension: Let children pretend or bring in food and let them express themselves on how the feel about the new foods.
August 30, 2010
Got excited at this title because of my awesome pickle storytime...thought it would be additional fodder if I ever work again. Alas, only one line was pickle-related but this didn't detract from the fun to be had as a picky eater deems all food "too this" or "too that". Illustrations are vital to the enjoyment of the story.
January 6, 2011
At first this book was cute, but the ending was terrible. The child is supposed to be eating and says everything is too mushy, etc. By the end he has eaten all the food on his plate. How is that possible? His parents gave him one bite of everything? Makes no sense to me.
Troy liked the pictures.
Troy liked the pictures.
August 11, 2013
All ages
All of the food a little boy is given is not up to his standards, it is too greeny, too wrinkly, too squishy, or other offensive state. Eventually the boy is able to find something that is just yummy.
This would be a good book to point out what words mean as you read them. You can also talk to the children about why like and don't like certain foods.
All of the food a little boy is given is not up to his standards, it is too greeny, too wrinkly, too squishy, or other offensive state. Eventually the boy is able to find something that is just yummy.
This would be a good book to point out what words mean as you read them. You can also talk to the children about why like and don't like certain foods.
June 9, 2022
A little boy refuses one food after another.
Cutely illustrated, however, I don’t know if it is a particularly good idea to give a child a vocabulary arsenal with which to be a picky eater. Although the final page ends “So yummy! All done,” the picture of the empty plate gives no clue to as what the child actually was willing to eat.
Cutely illustrated, however, I don’t know if it is a particularly good idea to give a child a vocabulary arsenal with which to be a picky eater. Although the final page ends “So yummy! All done,” the picture of the empty plate gives no clue to as what the child actually was willing to eat.
February 2, 2014
Very cute illustrations and lots of color help tell all about the picky eaters in this story. My children and I all loved this story and we've already read it many times! It's a favorite and will continue to be for a long time. Too fun!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews