Dinner Sorted!

by Jimmy Rees, Briony Stewart (Illustrator)

From one of Australia’s best-loved comedians and children’s entertainers, Jimmy Rees, come two stories about the dinnertime drama and bedtime excuses that families everywhere will know all too well.

Dinner Sorted! Who said dinnertime was hard? Dad's got dinner sorted! Lenny and the twins sit at the table, ready to dig in. Dad has cooked a delicious meal, Lenny's favourite, and there is enough for everyone to have seconds. Perfect! But then –

What's that green stuff? I need a spoon! I need a bowl! It's too hot! It's too cold! Can I have dessert yet?

Bedtime Sorted! Who said bedtime was hard? Dad’s got bedtime sorted! Lenny and the twins have a bath without water spilling over, brush their teeth without toothpaste spraying onto the mirror and go to sleep straight after their story. Perfect! Dad can finally settle down to his dinner. But then –

My pyjamas don’t match! I’m too cold! I’m too hot! The window is making funny noises! I’m not tired!

'I appreciated how realistically Rees tells the story; it’s not getting the kids to bed that’s hard, it’s keeping them there that is! ... Bedtime Sorted! is the perfect, laugh-out-loud read before bedtime for children aged 3+.' (on Bedtime Sorted!)
Better Reading Australia

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

Published February 22, 2022

Reviews

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dinner Sorted! is a board book for young readers (and their parents) by Australian comedian, Jimmy Rees. Dad cooks dinner while mum tidies up and takes care of washing hands. Dad serves up his masterpiece (“I didn’t use a single vegetable”) although the kitchen is in the state that will resonate with long-suffering wives of creative cooks; the martini glass, a nod to Rees’s other persona. Mum ends up wearing food on each outfit she changes into; the twins wear quite a bit too. Lenny finds lots of excuses not to eat, and the twins agree each and every time. Bribes ensue.

It’s a cute tale that is not just enhanced by Briony Stewart’s clever and quirky illustrations, but which really tell the story. The detail on every page welcomes close scrutiny. Dad, Lenny and the baby twins are beavers; Mum is a duck; the pet is an iguana who bears watching for what it gets up to on each page (did it just reproduce in the laundry basket?); the noticeboard will be familiar to anyone with children. The cook-book titles and authors will amuse. The front inside cover is filled with lots of Lennys avoiding eating, the back, with the twins in various eating poses. Quite delightful!

[Sue Gerhardt Griffiths · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny, chaotic and some crazy dinnertime drama.
Oh my, those kids... cheers me up no end that I had only one child. LOL.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't have kids but I imagine dinner is like this every night in many households across the world!

[Lola Grynt · Rating 1 out of 5]

It is so weird. I am obviously not the target audience though.