HOW TO FEED YOUR PARENTS

Mom and dad are picky eaters. Matilda is not. How can she convince them to try new foods?

Matilda Macaroni loves to try new foods. Grandma Macaroni’s jambalaya. Sushi at a friend’s house. Pork paprikash at another’s. However, her parents will only eat six things: chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese, burgers, grilled cheese, pizza, and sugary cereal. Matilda realizes the only way she can try different foods is to take over the kitchen! With help from Grandma and her babysitter, she quickly “perfects paella, masters miso soup, and conquers croquettes.” One day, she offers to make her parents dinner. Even though she makes something on their will-eat list—a hamburger—they are still skeptical. “This doesn’t look like what I like,” says Mr. Macaroni. “There are mushrooms on it,” says Mrs. Macaroni. But once they take a bite of Matilda’s hamburger, both mom and dad realize it’s delicious! The Macaronis are soon on their way to cooking and eating together. Miller’s delightful, topsy-turvy tale is boosted by Aly’s multicultural cast of fun, cartoony characters; Matilda’s biracial, with brown skin; her dad and grandma are white and her mom’s brown-skinned. Their expressive faces and body language hijack the page, whether they’re recoiling in disgust or smiling a smug smile of success. Readers can attempt the Macaroni family’s quiche recipe in the back.

A laugh-out-loud book that may have readers trying new foods as well. (Picture book. 4-8)