Oliver's Milkshake

by Alison Bartlett

First, it was his vegetables. Then, it was his fruit. Now, it's his milk - will Oliver ever like what's good for him? Spend a day on the farm with him and find out!

Genres: Food

32 pages, Paperback

First published July 20, 2000

About the author

Alison studied illustration at Anglia College of Art in Cambridge and began an M.A. At Kingston University.
Her career as a children's book author and illustrator started in the early 1990s and met with immediate success. Bartlett has adorned the pages of numerous children's books, including Growing Frogs, the popular Oliver series by author Vivian French, and Over in the Grasslands by Anna Wilson, just to name a few. Bartlett's use of bright colors and her simplistic drawing style promise picture-book afficionados plenty of excitement peppered with an air of mystery.

Reviews

[Kayla Motok · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a cute story about a little boy named Oliver. He is a picky eater and the story follows about him trying one of his aunts delicious milk shakes. The whole time he is unsure about them and doesn't seem too excited until he actually drinks it and loves it! It would be a fun story to actually bring to life and take the classroom to a farm them selves to see all the animals and maybe even try out their own milkshakes!

[Laura Cope · Rating 4 out of 5]

One day, Oliver is eating breakfast, when his Aunty arrives to take him out for the day. She is shocked to see that Oliver's breakfast consists of orange squash - no milk in sight! Oliver insists that he doesn't like milk, but his Aunty is determined to change his mind by giving him one of her delicious fruity milkshakes! They go to the farm to buy fresh milk and see lots of different animals along the way.

This is a lovely story and has a lot of scope to be used in the classroom. I used this in an SEN school and found it very versatile as a book to read as a whole class. It also contained cross-curricular links to the Geography topic at the time - countryside. The farm animals mentioned in the book meant that it was good for testing the children's recognition of the animals as well as linking this to the noises they make. Using small toy versions of the animals also helps them to cross apply this knowledge and using them as props during the story makes reading it throughout a week or fortnight much more fun for the children! The book and associated activities would also work well in an Early Years setting.

It would be nice for children to visit a farm if possible, to bring the story to life, and to even make their own milkshakes in DT. A very versatile book with lovely illustrations which children very much enjoy reading.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oliver's Milkshake was about a young boy who fooled his aunt into making a milkshake by telling her he didn't like milk. They went into town and came up with another way for him to drink milk. She made him a milk shake. He drank it and it came about that he used it all on his cereal and there was none left. This is a good book for when kids are picky to come up with other ways for them to take in nutritious foods.