You're about to make dinner. Tommy wants mac and cheese, Emily wants pizza, Sarah wants cereal, Mikey wants tuna, and Joey just can't make up his mind. All you want is for everyone to agree on something! If you've every had a moment like that, you'll sympathize and enjoy the comedy in The Seven Silly Eaters.
When the topic of books comes up on large family boards, The Seven Silly Eaters is often mentioned. It is one of those rare books that manages to depicts a large family without drawing too much attention to the fact that the family is atypical in size.
The story follows the Peters family, from birth of their first child through their last. The Peters children have one peculiar trait, they all are extremely finicky and will only eat, or drink as it were, one kind of food. Unfortunately for their poor mother, no two children like the same thing. When there is only a couple of children in the household, this task is not so bad, but as the family grows, so does the mothers weariness. Having seven children isnt the problem, making seven unique dishes a day for her silly eaters just plain wears mom out. She works day and night, feeding her children, and as the story progresses and her children, and mom herself, gets older, Mrs. Peters finally breaks down as she believes her children have forgotten her birthday. Alas, they havent, which leads to a wonderful surprise for mom, and an even more surprising solution to the familys picky eating problem.
The story is charming and whimsical. Its not practical or plausible, but its not meant to be. In the spirit of many of the old fairy tales, it sets up a scenario that is a bit strange, but is amusing and filled with humor, love, and a moral: doing something special for the love of someone can sometimes have surprising and wonderful consequences. Despite the silliness of the situation, a very real aspect that resounds through the story is the parents, particularly the mothers, devotion to her children. Another thing that is spoken eloquently is the fact that even the best of mothers can get overwhelmed and distraught, but oftentimes a simple gesture of kindness on her child (or children's) part for her to know its worth it. As the mother takes a moment to hug each individual child on her birthday is a particularly special scene.
The storytelling of the book is done in rhyme. At times it is a little clumsy, but thats true for most lengthy books of this nature. Even Dr. Seuss had a few sentences that were a stretch. But the overall flow works well.
While the written word is certainly important, illustrations, particularly in childrens books, can be equally important. This is where The Seven Silly Eaters really shines. Each page is filled with a ton of detail. The pictures are sweet, sincere, and downright hysterical. One thing I found particularly funny is that as we follow the lives of this family, we also follow the lives of their pets who are affectionately present in most of the pictures.
One of the things that I so often look for in books, movies, and other large family depictions are true to life scenes. Being a part of a large family has it particular charms, and not just in the idea of lots of noise and little privacy. This is one book that truly makes an effort to affectionately show life of a large family, notably with large piles of laundry in various states of wash and fold and organized clutter, which is almost a given with so many toys and general household furnishings to accommodate so many. There is a wonderful scene of the childrens bedroom, the loft actually, where all seven children sleep, but still manage to have a small space of their own...even if it is their bed.
The Seven Silly Eaters is a book that shows the challenges and joys of large families. Smaller families will still be able to relate to the issues of pickiness and learning to get along with each other. Its sweet, positive, and funny, which makes it a good addition to any family library.
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