The Prince's breakfast by Joanne Oppenhein illustrated by Miriam Latimer

This might seem odd but the real reason I choose The Prince's breakfast out on a recent shopping expedition was the promise of Hugh Bonneville reading the story on the enclosed CD.  You will not be disappointed.  His voice is splendid.

Our Kindergarten classes are reading books this term about food so The Prince's Breakfast will be a welcome addition to our collection of books on this theme.

The little Prince has turned mealtimes in to a game of 'No!'.  His constant refrain, when offered delicious and exotic foods is 'No, not I."  Foods range from ideels and dahl in Agra, tortillas and salsa in Mexico and congee with pickles in China. Having tried everything on their journey around the world, the queen declares the family should now go home and perhaps admit defeat but just as they turn to climb into their royal carriage an old man pulls a bright red bottle from his case.  He sprinkles a few drops of this magical red substance straight onto the Prince's tongue.  Can you guess what this is?  From now on our boy will eat and eat.

"He poured it on pancakes; he spread it on bread."

Books told in rhyme are always such fun and I especially like the way this book does not talk down to the young reader.  Children who are curious about the exotic foods and lands mentioned in this book are free to explore for themselves.  Perhaps a visit to a restaurant or a little family cooking might be the order of the day not to mention taking time to look at an atlas.

Here is the web page from the publisher Barefoot Books.