Jake Goes Peanuts

by Michael Wright

He would not try tomatoes

or a single Brussels sprout.

And if he tasted something new,

he’d spit that thing right out.

Jake is a picky eater.

Everything new makes Jake’s list of foods he doesn’t like. Everything except peanut butter. Jake loves peanut butter.

Does the whole family have to eat peanuts for every meal? Peanut butter pancakes? Even peanut butter pot roast?!

Will Jake ever try something new?

The answer will delight children and their (not-so-picky) parents!

Genres: Picture Books, Food, Childrens, Humor, Young Adult

48 pages, Hardcover

First published August 17, 2010

About the author

Originally an advertising copywriter, now author and illustrator of children's books. Also the author and artist of a comic strip called "Home office".

Reviews

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This third Jake book is a yummy choice. Jake was a kid who didn’t like a lot of foods. In fact, he only liked one. Peanut butter. It’s all he wanted to eat for any meal. So his parents hatched a peanut-buttery plan to fix the situation. For an entire week, everything that Jake ate would have peanut butter in it. It sounded like a great plan to Jake! There was peanut butter roast, peanut butter pancakes, peanut butter soda cooled by peanut butter ice, peanut butter turkey. Even Jake’s dog got to try peanut butter dog food, but his bowl got stuck on his head. But even peanut-butter loving Jake could not take one more bite by the end of the week. Though he only ate one or two lima beans and his mother’s tuna casserole is still frightening.

Written with a big dose of humor, this book is jaunty and great fun. Written in rhyme, the book bounces along without ever getting stuck in a peanut butter jam. Wright’s illustrations are modern and add to the humor. The expressions of the parents are priceless, often with eyes half-lidded and apparently stunned. Wright is not afraid to take the scenario to an extreme, which will delight young children, especially the comment about peanut-butter poop.

A very funny peanut butter romp, this book is appropriate for ages 3-5.

[Dani Moore]

Just recieved my advance reader copy! (mine is a paperback) Read it to my grandaughter who at 22 months is a little under the age range for this book, but she very much enjoyed looking at it .
The Graphics are very bright and bold with a quirky sensibility, somewhat simular in style to Gary Larson's Far Side cartoons.
I especially enjoyed the change in type from standard typeface to a handwritten "voice bubble" and back again. Everyone who has ever eaten their mother's tuna casserole will empathise and giggle at the line "but his mothers tuna casserole still isn't very good".
Nice rhyming meter.
I think this book has potential to become a family favorite.
The story line of making the kid eat peanut better with everything for a week touches the heart of every parent who has had to deal with a picky eater who refuses any foods except their few safe favorites.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jake Goes Peanuts was a pretty entertaining story! A great deal of the humor in this book is in the illustrations, and the more carefully they're studied, the more humor there is to find (e.g., a picture of Jimmy Carter, the peanut-loving president, on the refrigerator). I got a big kick out of this book, but that's probably because I am an adult who sometimes has to feed two children who are picky eaters. I think that my niece and nephew liked the book, but not to the same extent that I did--they were too busy comparing and contrasting Jake's food phobias with their own. I think that for them this book was more of a primer that they probably think is entitled, Other Foods to Consider Disliking!

[Ham · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story was clever, but it was the illustrations that made me laugh most of all. Very cartoony, very funny. I'll be looking for other books by this author. Beware: there is some bathroom humor that caught me by surprise.

[N · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rhymes excelllently and mentions poop. It's a winner.

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jake's refusal to eat anything but peanut butter sandwiches reminds me of the adventures I've had with my own picky eater - my youngest son. Even at age 25, it's still like pulling teeth to get him to try new foods, even sugary treats like cookies and candy. He does eat a few healthy foods - like apples and broccoli - in addition to his frequent "breaded chicken product," so I guess I can't complain too much.

Like the first Jake book I read about getting the boy to sleep alone, his parents resort to some pretty drastic (and frequently hilarious) measures to try and cure Jake's problem. It all ends well with their finicky eater agreeing to taste some other foods.

My solution was to let the kid grow out of it.

Yeah . . . that didn't work out so well for me.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love how well this book rhymes. It's written well; I just really hate the illustrations. The illustrations need to be updated and then this book would get 5 stars. Aside from the weird illustrations, I love this book. I had adults and children crack up when I read this for storytime.

[Valerie Doherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amusing tale about a peanut butter lover! Funny.

[librarydiaries · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jake gags when he has to eat lima beans, carrots or any type of vegetable. But the one thing he is certain of, is his love for peanut butter. In fact, he loves peanut butter so much, that he begins to consume a little too much of it. So much to the point where his parents cook up a plan to feed him peanut butter with every meal, in hopes that Jake will change his mind.

The story contains rhymes, and very vividly colored illustrations. It is comedic and suitable for a storytime setting in a library for preschool children. The book subtly implies that too much of anything is not good for you, and as such, the plot is quite predictable and familiar. However, Wright has done a great job at bringing out the humor in this situation, especially when Jake eats so much peanut butter, he even has peanut butter poop!

[Anners · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this picture book expecting to read about how a child learned to overcome his self-imposed peanut butter addiction in order to accommodate a friend with nut allergies. What I got instead was a well-told, amusing story of a boy who would only eat peanut butter and/or foods that have been doused in peanut butter. Until, that is...his parents concoct a cunning plan that eventually compels him to try new foods. Parents with picky eaters will identify with and enjoy this story. I was expecting the story to touch on the issue of peanut allergies (which it does only briefly), but no such luck. If you're looking for a picture book that addresses this issue, please check out Gloria Koster's The Peanut-Free Cafe.

[Madison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is one of my favorite children's stories I have read in a long time.

It is about a boy named Jake who is a picky eater and only likes Peanut Butter- or so he thinks. His parents decided to have a week of peanut butter, and at first Jake is really excited. They make/bake it into everything they eat, and by the end of the week, Jake is ready to eat all the foods that he did not like at the beginning of the story.

This book is a must read for picky eaters. Hopefully it will make them at least want to try some new things!

The illustrations are also great. Throughout the story, pay attention to the little details! The books in the background and the newspaper headings all have to do with peanuts!

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jake will eat nothing but peanut butter, until his mom and dad declare they will eat only Peanut Butter foods for a week. Before the week is up, he is entirely sick of peanut butter and now will try just about anything. This story is told in rhym, a lot of fun to read. The illustrations are interesting and remind me of a strange comic or cartoon. Good picture book for a kid who is picky about what he eats.

[Alexandria Hiam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jake will eat nothing but peanut butter, until his mom and dad declare they will eat only Peanut Butter foods for a week. Before the week is up, he is entirely sick of peanut butter and now will try just about anything. This story is told in rhym, a lot of fun to read. The illustrations are interesting and remind me of a strange comic or cartoon. Good picture book for a kid who is picky about what he eats.

[Stefani · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am such a picky eater, I totally relate to Jake! I loved the hatred of all foods! The rhythm is fantastic and the rhymes don't feel forced. There is even a page of potty humor, which is awesome. This would fit well in any food storytime. It even comments on the kids with peanut allergies, while Jake is eating only peanut butter foods. A new favorite.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book to read with children who are picky eaters, especially those who seem to only like to eat a very select few food items. It depicts an unpleasant experiment where every food, every meal consisted of the same thing over and over. Anyone would tire of that fairly quickly. The illustrations are fun and the narrative is humorous. We really enjoyed reading it together.

[Sheniqua · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a humorous book about Jake, a little boy that loves peanut butter. He won't try any other foods until his parents start using peanut butter in everything! I would let students be creative, use their imagination and come up with as many different peanut butter recipes as possible and actually create a class recipe using measurements etc.

[Jennybug · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the name of the book. The art work was really bizarre, and I actually liked it. This is a great book to read to children to get them to start trying new foods.

It reminded me of when my sister got married and moved out. She was so excited to make a whole batch of cookie dough and eat it all by herself. Of course she never did that again. ha ha

[Connie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute little story about a picky eater who only wants to eat peanut butter, until his parents feed him only peanut butter flavored items for a week. Cartoon-like illustrations and subject matter will amuse tween audiences. Grades k-4

[Jennifer Hess · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a fun book! The illustrations are fabulous and full of surprises (Jimmy Carter picture on the fridge). Perfect for parents of picky eaters. The text rhymes and lends itself to successful reading aloud. Thanks Kelli for recommending this title.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This rhyming book is something most kids can connect to--the woes of a picky eater (and his family) when he will only eat one type of food--peanut butter.
The illustrations are simply hilarious--my favorite part of the book.

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hysterically funny take on the picky eater story...of course, Jake only eats peanuts...until he can't stand anymore. Illustrations amuse without words to highlight the silliness.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a person who is obsessed with peanutbutter, this book had me from the cover!

[Terrah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious.

[Nancy Jo Lambert · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://ecslibrary.edublogs.org/2011/0...

[Tam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fun book for picky eaters who like peanut butter! My boys (ages 4 & 8) loved this and so did I!

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

The story and illustrations were perfectly matched--both unappealing.

[Dana Pressnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loves peanut butter. Picky eater. Really cute book and I love moms hair.

[Lindsay Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book because it was funny and made you want to read it until the end. It also shows readers that it is always good to try new things and not just stick with what you know!

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious; move over Bread and Jam for Frances!

[Debby Baumgartner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jake only likes peanut butter. His parents decide to have a week of everything with peanut butter included. Will Jake ever eat anything but peanut butter?